SuperLight Photonics - Elly Schietse
Oct 31, 2023
SuperLight Photonics, a pioneer company for supercontinuum lasers and technology, has launched the first revolutionary portable wideband laser, the SLP-1000. Its high-quality smooth wide spectral output offers an unrivalled light source for industrial and medical imaging applications and for the dynamic world of spectroscopy.
Supercontinuum lasers, also known as wideband lasers, provide immense bandwidth while maintaining high coherence and low noise. However, today’s industrial solutions are large and heavy, with limited environmental robustness, and require high power. Moreover, while they deliver a wide bandwidth of colors, a dominant color usually stands out, whereas the remaining colors are at exceedingly low relative power levels. Essentially, they are “wideband” by technicality.
The new SuperLight Photonics SLP-1000 is an industry-first portable wideband laser with a compact, battery-operated, and rugged design, weighing only 900 grams (32 oz) and having a form factor of less than 1 liter (<1 ).
The SLP-1000, based on PAD - Patterned Alternating Dispersion™, offers a high-quality, coherent and stable spectral output (400nm@-3dB, 1500nm@-20dB) in the Near Infrared (NIR) band at a repetition rate of 100MHz with pulse durations around 20fs pulses. It integrates a seed laser from Menlo Systems, a global supplier of instrumentation for high-precision photonics metrology. The laser output is equipped with a Thorlabs-compatible screw thread (SM05), seamlessly integrating with other products from Thorlabs, a global designer and manufacturer of photonics laser equipment.
The short pulse duration of around 20fs, achieved with the SLP-1000, is also a testament to the advantages of having highly efficient SC generators. In comparison to alternative products, lower pulse energies can be used at the input of these devices; thus pulse broadening needed for amplification, noise from amplifier stages, and additional optical components can be eliminated. SLP-1000 then provides high-quality nonlinear pulse compression for application fields such as third harmonic surface imaging and transient absorption spectroscopy.
Haider Zia, the visionary founder and CTO of SuperLight Photonics, reflects, "The SLP-1000 is the result of the journey from a spark of an idea, kindled during my tenure at Twente University, to an industrial product reality. The industry demand for a portable, high-quality wideband laser has spanned more than a decade, and today, we proudly answer that call."
The adventure has just begun. We eagerly anticipate market responses to our upcoming product launch at the PIC Summit Europe photonics event on November 7th and 8th in Eindhoven. Prepare to be illuminated, for the SuperLight Photonics SLP-1000 has shattered the boundaries of what was once thought possible in photonics.
About SuperLight Photonics
SuperLight Photonics, based in Enschede, the Netherlands, is a pioneering Dutch spin-off company from the University of Twente aiming to become a leading player in wideband lasers. The platform technology offers solutions in various sectors, including medical applications in spectrometry, OCT, precision farming and crop monitoring, surface inspection, and pollution detection. SuperLight Photonics is at the forefront of creating Photon-IC (PIC) solutions. Capitalizing on the momentum within the photonics sector, SuperLight Photonics contributes to a technologically advanced and sustainable future.