Femtosecond fiber lasers for high-precision measurement technology

“The decisive factor was in particular the successful transfer of scientific findings on a high-precision ‘frequency comb technology’ for lasers to industrial applications,” says Lutz Schröter, vice president of the German Physical Society (DPG). Fiber lasers are special solid-state lasers based on optical fibers made of glass fibers.

The cooperation between Toptica Photonics and the chair of ultrafast physics and photonics of professor Alfred Leitenstorfer at the University of Konstanz began in 2004. Since then, basic research and subsequent technology transfer have continued under a cooperation agreement, regularly supported by the transfer of graduates to Toptica.

Of the concepts for femtosecond laser systems initially transferred under the cooperation, nonlinear frequency conversion in highly nonlinear optical fibers represents a key component. It allows the generation of continuously tunable and extremely short light pulses with durations of a few femtoseconds in the entire near-infrared and visible spectral range. This concept forms the basis for a wide range of applications, for example in precision metrology, spectroscopy and microscopy.

In the meantime, the technology has been legally protected in three patent families in cooperation with the company.

With the Technology Transfer Award, the DPG honors a successful technology transfer from a research institute to a company in recent years at the annual forum “Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Dialog”. It is awarded jointly to the parties involved in the technology transfer, i.e. the institute from which the technology originates, the body responsible for the technology transfer and the company implementing the technology. The award consists of a glass trophy and a certificate for each.

At the two-day forum, innovation drivers from technology-driven start-ups, large companies, research, funding and private investors share their experiences and provide tips for successful spin-offs. This year, the KTT Forum took place at the Zeiss Innovation Hub @ KIT in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen.