Since H. G. Wells wrote War of the Worlds in the 1890s, through Buck Rodgers and Flash Gordon in the 40s, and past Ghostbusters in the 80s, the ray gun has been an allure of a radiant future. Today, new technologies are enabling lasers to realize the dreams formerly relegated to science fiction. Such high power lasers, up to >100 kW, are used for cutting, welding, materials processing and directed energy weapons. In this webinar I will discuss (non-fictional) technologies enabling high power laser. Specifically, I will focus on an array of high power laser enabling capabilities and products available from Luna Innovations; seed lasers, polarization control, phase control, and path delay (SP3), to help make the dreams from the 19th century the reality of the 21st.
Overview
Laser light has properties that makes it an extremely attractive alternative to traditional mechanical manufacturing methods. Lasers can cut, weld, drill and deposit materials better, faster, and more efficiently. For military applications, directed energy weapons (DEW) promise a cheaper and faster method to neutralize the enemy than present kinetic weapons. We will also discuss other applications, such as lidar and nuclear fusion, that rely on high power lasers.
These applications require new technologies to make them reliable and cost effective. This webinar will cover various high power lasers, technologies that enable them, and testing tools to insure their accurate and low loss assembly.
Through the acquisitions of General Photonics, Rio Lasers and New Ridge Technologies, Luna Innovations has added to its arsenal of products targeting the high power laser community. Specifically, the webinar will review the capabilities of Luna's seed lasers, multiple methods to control polarization and optical phase, as well as optical path delay equalization. In addition, we will describe how Luna's all-optical parameter testers allows manufacturers of high power lasers to see inside their fiber optical assembly and verify that reflections and losses are sufficiently low to pass the extreme high light power of high power lasers.
Key Takeaways
- Examine how cost-effective modeling enables lasers and their unique capabilities
- Discover different industrial applications for laser technology
- Learn how laser technology has evolved and differs from its usage 1 - 5 years ago
- Explore the adoption of new technologies and developments to incorporate high power lasers
Speaker
Yaffe, came to Luna when his previous company, New Ridge Technologies, LLC (NRT), was acquired in 2020. He has over 30 years of experience in advanced fiber optic technologies and is recognized as a leading authority in polarization effects and control in fibers. Yaffe founded and served as president of NRT, where he oversaw day-to-day operations. He was also the founder of YAFO Networks, where he led the development of PMD compensation and technologies as chairman, CEO, and CTO. Before YAFO, he worked on network systems and optical technologies at CIENA and Bell Laboratories. Yaffe has a doctorate and master’s degree in Applied Physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science and a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College.