Calif., May 13, 2013 – Coherent, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) (Nasdaq: COHR) has expanded their family of ultrafast laser amplifiers with the new  Libra-HE+, which is now the highest power one-box, single-stage ultrafast amplifier available.  This amplifier delivers pulse energy > 5 mJ (at a 1 kHz repetition rate) with a choice of pulsewidths: <40 fs or 100fs.  Together with its superior beam quality and stable output, this makes the Libra-HE+ an ideal pump for tunable optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) such as Coherent’s OperA Solo.  This combination can serve as a simple and compact tunable source for ultrafast studies in photochemistry, solid state research and biology.  And its rugged stability and operational simplicity means it is particularly well-suited for use as a shared resource in a multi-user facility.

As with other Coherent  amplifier products, the unique geometry of the titanium:sapphire gain crystal in the new Libra-HE+ enables water-only cooling which simplifies operation and lowers the cost of ownership as compared to thermo-electric or cryogenic cooling of the crystal.  And, the use of a single regenerative amplifier stage in the Libra-HE+ minimizes both overall size and system cost, while resulting in superior output beam quality (M2 < 1.3) and energy stability (<0.5% rms). 

Founded in 1966, Coherent, Inc. is a world leader in providing photonics based solutions to the commercial and scientific research markets, and is part of the Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index and the Russell 2000.  Please direct any questions about this press release to Steve Butcher, Director of Marketing, Research Laser Systems business unit, at 408-764-4639.  For more information about Coherent, including product and financial updates, visit our website at http://www.Coherent.com.