Thorlabs adds ultrafast laser line and Brazilian office

March 15, 2012

Newton,NJ--Thorlabs is adding a new sales office in Sao Carlos, Brazil, and acquiring an ultrafast laser line from idesta Quantum Electronics.

Conard Holton

Newton,NJ--Thorlabs is adding a new sales office in Sao Carlos, Brazil. Alex Cable, president and CEO of the company says that this office is a crucial part of a strategy to develop a strong presence in South America. He says, “Through university visits and our presence at local tradeshows, we look forward to personal interactions that will better inform our understanding of regional needs within the South American photonics community."

Establishing this new office follows the recent acquisition of the Octavius line of ultrafast lasers from idesta Quantum Electronics (IQE). IQE was founded in 2010 by Jim Fujimoto and Franz Kärtner from the Research Laboratory of Electronics (rLe) at MIT, Alex Cable, and Peter Fendel.

The transfer of the Octavius lasers and ultrafast pulse characterization products will allow IQE to focus on the development of advanced synchronization and timing distribution products, while Thorlabs can broaden its portfolio with advanced lasers and diagnostic tools.

The Octavius family includes ultrafast lasers with 85 MHz and 1 GHz repetition rates and pulse widths of less than 6 fs, aimed at both photonics and biological applications. The Octavius-2P laser, currently under development, is designed specifically for multiphoton microscopy.

The Two-Dimensional Scanning Interferometer (2DSI), developed in collaboration with MIT, is also being transferred to Thorlabs. This technology allows the characterization of pulses of a few cycles by interfering neighboring spectral components with 50 as spectral phase precision.

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.