Boston, MA - MassDevelopment, an economic development organization in Massachusetts, has provided a $2 million term loan from its Emerging Technology Fund to TeraDiode Inc., a Wilmington company working on new technology that makes ultra-high brightness direct diode lasers for industrial applications, including steel cutting and steel welding.
TeraDiode, which began leasing a 25,000 sq ft facility in Wilmington last year, will use loan proceeds to buy equipment for assembly, testing, lab and office uses, lab construction, and working capital for assembling lasers.
TeraDiode was founded in 2009 to commercialize wavelength-beam-combining direct diode laser technology, which is the third generation of kilowatt class high brightness industrial lasers. The company says that direct diode is inherently the lowest cost, most compact, and highest efficiency industrial laser.
When used with wavelength beam combining, the laser also has the brightness previously provided only by larger, higher cost, and more power-consuming CO2, disk, and fiber lasers. Wavelength beam combining was invented and patented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is exclusively licensed to TeraDiode.
MassDevelopment's Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) targets technology companies that are starting up or expanding manufacturing in Massachusetts by providing financing for working capital, manufacturing facilities, and equipment.
The company plans to create high-technology manufacturing jobs in the next few years,. To outfit the building, TeraDiode is creating 15,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space, most of which requires a cleanroom environment and specialty alignment equipment.
"Wavelength beam combining direct diode is a disruptive force in the industrial laser market. The loan from the Emerging Technology Fund is instrumental in scaling our operation.... The faster we scale, the more jobs we generate in the Commonwealth," said Dr. Parviz Tayebati, CEO of TeraDiode