January 18, 2008, Orsay, France--Imagine Optic, provider of wavefront analysis and adaptive optics technologies, reported that preliminary results for the fiscal year 2007 indicated approximately 150% growth in the U.S. market with steady growth in Europe and Asia. Worldwide, the company's sales progressed over 10% during the year, attributed to increased demand for its adaptive optics product line, most notably the AOKit - bio.
In January 2007, Imagine Optic announced its intention to double growth in the U.S. through the reinforcement of its presence in that market. After having achieved this objective, Samuel Bucourt, the company's CEO, said, "Over the course of 2007, we made significant investments into our sales and marketing program in order to meet the growing need for high-quality wavefront analysis and adaptive optics products around the world." He continues, "While Europe and Asia remain equally important to us, the U.S. is a key actor in many of the industrial and scientific research and development programs that can benefit from our unique product offer."
In the U.S., the company will use the French government's VIE program, designed to bolster the international growth of small to midsized companies, to reinforce its presence by adding a full-time representative at its Venice, CA based distributor, Bosa Nova Technologies.
Imagine Optic will be exhibiting this week at stand 715 at Photonics West in San Jose, CA.
In related news, Imagine Optic and Amplitude Technologies (Evry, France), a manufacturer of advanced femtosecond laser technologies, have jointly filed a patent application for a totally new concept in optical fuse design and fabrication that will contribute to advancing the growing applications of high-power lasers. The optical fuse combines adaptive optics, dielectric technology, and a unique physical design that enables it to protect fragile and costly elements throughout the laser amplification chain. One of the key merits of this new technology is its use of inexpensive replacement parts as the disposable fuse element that enables users to benefit from a rapid return on investment.
High-power lasers rely on expensive rods, pumps, stretchers, and compressors to augment and focus the energy to levels that exceed the emissions of current state-of-the-art lasers by several orders of magnitude by firing extremely rapid and focused pulses. Gilles Riboulet, CEO of Amplitude Technologies, said "Every time a component is damaged to the unintentional misdirection or build-up of energy inside the amplification chain, facilities incur significant costs related to procuring replacement components. This new optical fuse provides a safeguard that will help prevent these costly accidents by inhibiting damaging energy from passing on to the next step in the beam amplification chain."
For more information, visit www.imagine-optic.com.