Photonics News 44

Dear readers,

After falling infection rates in summer, we are once again reminded of the “new” reality at the beginning of the winter season. The hope remains that the economy will be less affected than it was this spring. We have been following all the CDC guidelines have and optimized our office processes for working remotely, in the best and most feasible way.

At LASER COMPONENTS, it is important to us that we stick to our long-term goals despite the incalculable extent of the pandemic, and an end which that is still unknown. We are using this time wisely, as we keep up with product developments and technologies, and as always, dedicated to you, our valued customers.  

We recently opened a brand-new facility in Chandler, Arizona, which was ready for occupancy on schedule at the end of September, after less than twelve months of construction. The 3,000 square meter (29,000 sq. ft) building is used for the development and production of avalanche photodiodes and infrared detectors, the demand for which has multiplied in recent months. The state-of-the-art temperature and humidity-controlled cleanrooms of ISO7 class (10,000 US standard FED-STD-209E) contain airtight passages and an air shower. The new building provides space for 80 employees working in a single shift with up to 200 employees working three shifts. With more space, we have been able to double critical production equipment and expand our automated testing capacities.

In addition, investments have also been made at the production site in Germany. The facility has added another large ion beam sputtering coating system for producing high-quality laser optics. This will soon be put into operation, along with additional measuring stations, to determine absorption by means of cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Testing starts at 1064 nm; 532 and 355 nm testing is also possible. Using a set of reference mirrors, absorption values in the range of R> 99.995% can be measured at 1064 nm.

As of November 30, 2020, a completely revised concept for the measurement of single-photon counters is now available, allowing several fiber-coupled and free-beam modules to be measured and characterized simultaneously. We can now measure at 505 nm, in addition to 405 nm, 670 nm, and 804 nm, all of which are new. The beam paths are adjusted automatically, and the process flow from production to measurement has been optimized. The burn-in capacity for COUNT modules has been increased from 20 test stations to 80.

We will continue to keep you informed and updated about all updates as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Gary Hayes
General Manager, Laser Components USA, Inc.