The 1960s were famously a time of political and social turmoil, but they were also full of exciting photonics products created from inventions made in laboratories around the world. Following the invention of the solid-state ruby laser in 1960, and the first He-Ne gas laser and the first laser diode in 1962, each invention was turned into a commercial product within a year.
Throughout 2015, we're exploring this intertwined story of technologies and products in a special series of articles by contributing editor Jeff Hecht. Rather than a definitive history, he is using the technical articles and product advertisements in Laser Focus World and some recollections to create a sense of "you are there" as photonics evolved into the commercial mainstream. At the end of each article, he identifies emerging developments sure to affect the future.
The series began in January with the appropriate subject of optics since it is the oldest of photonics-related technologies. The February focus was solid-state lasers; this month's topic is gas lasers (see page 31); and April's article will cover laser diodes. By the end of the year, Jeff will also have reported on LEDs and other light sources, detectors and sensors, cameras and arrays, fiber optics, spectrometers, test and measurement equipment, position and support equipment, and optical design software. Each of these subjects is also a Topic Center on our website, www.laserfocusworld.com, and the articles are highlighted there.
When Laser Focus World was founded in 1965, worldwide sales of lasers were negligible and only reached $24 million in 1968. By 1990 sales were over $1 billion, and, according to our research group Strategies Unlimited, will be around $10 billion by the end of 2015. What's remarkable about such rapid technology development and product sales growth is the sense that photonics technologies and products are still young—and still creating enough excitement to prolong the party for a long time to come.
