Coherent ships Verdi and forms new semiconductor group

Coherent ships Verdi and forms new semiconductor group

After shipping numerous preproduction systems and building u¥a $10 million backlog for its Verdi diode-pumped solid-state laser, Coherent (Santa Clara, CA) has shipped the first production system to Lucent Technologies Bell Labs (Murray Hill, NJ). The successful transition of Verdi into manufacturing reflects the culmination of several new developments at Coherent, including a multimillion-dollar investment in Coherent`s diode-manufacturing facility and development of a novel, highly reliable, repeatable manufacturing process consistent with high-volume production. The new manufacturing technologies will continue to be used in laser systems based on the Verdi platform that are currently under development. At the same time, Vittorio Fossati-Bellani, diode-laser business-unit manager for the laser group, was tapped to lead a newly formed Coherent Semiconductor Group. The new Semiconductor Grou¥will build on significant investments that Coherent made during the last three years in diode technology, according to Coherent president and CEO Bernard Couillard.