II-VI Laser Enterprise Expands Seed Laser Portfolio for Pulsed Fiber Lasers at Photonics West 2014

ZURICH, Switzerland, Jan. 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- II-VI Laser Enterprise GmbH, a subsidiary of II-VI Incorporated IIVI and a global leader in semiconductor lasers, will debut new products from its expanded Seed Laser portfolio at Photonics West 2014. These include a new Fabry Perot (FP) laser diode module with ultra-broad band fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for high peak power pulsed Fiber Lasers and a Distributed Feedback (DFB) laser diode module designed for seeding of sub-nanosecond Fiber and Solid State lasers.

The expanded Seed Laser portfolio comprehensively addresses all pulsed fiber laser applications and includes:

• An innovative DFB single-mode laser diode with an on-chip distributed feedback grating that enables pulsed Fiber Lasers to operate at picosecond pulse widths as well as enables frequency conversion into green and UV wavelength ranges. Available at 1064 nm and 1030 nm, the Seed Laser is capable of high peak powers of up to 800 mW for a pulse width as short as 150 ps tunable up to 4ns with programmable pulse shapes and a spectral line-width well below 100 pm.
   
• A FP Seed Laser module with a 4nm ultra-broad band chirped FBG, tailored to control spectral properties for the suppression of SBS (Stimulated Brillouin Scattering), a common problem in pulsed fiber lasers that occurs above 10 ns pulse width and at high peak power operation of pulsed fiber lasers. Available at 1064nm, the module can be operated at peak currents of up to 2 A.
   
• A narrow-band FBG FP laser module for pulsed frequency conversion applications. The laser module with less than 0.3 nm bandwidth and FBG at a short distance is available at 1064nm and 1030nm.

All Seed Laser modules feature a standard telecom-grade butterfly type package that includes a thermistor and back-facet monitor photodiode. Reliability of Seed Laser modules had been proven with pulsed reliability tests over 10,000 hours at 2 A peak current. For the DFB Seed Laser, a multi-cell life-test of over 8,000 hours at accelerated operating conditions has been performed with zero failures.

"As different applications and architectures for pulsed Fiber Lasers continue to grow, tailored seed solutions allow optimized material interaction and improved quality at the work piece, said Product Line Manager, Dominik Jaeggi.  "The expanded seed module portfolio demonstrates the capability at II-VI Laser Enterprise to continuously innovate and to develop flexible solutions that address the application requirements of our customers.".

Acknowledgement: Part of the technology development for this product has been supported by the EU funded FP7 ALPINE Project, n. 229231.

Notes to editors

1.   Photonics West will take place on Feb 1-6, 2014 at Mascone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA.

2.   II-VI Laser Enterprise will be exhibiting at the Photonics West exhibition at booth #2136.

3.   To arrange an interview with representatives of II-VI Laser Enterprise before or during the show, please contact Sheila Santwani at 510-305-4712 or ssantwani@laserenterprise.com.

About II-VI Laser Enterprise GmbH

II-VI Laser Enterprise GmbH is a leading provider of 980nm single mode pumps, high power laser diode and VCSEL solutions. II-VI Laser Enterprise GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of II-VI Incorporated IIVI headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland with design centers in Tucson (USA) and Paignton, (UK). The company is serving a variety of markets with its semiconductor laser solutions such as pumping, medical, printing, telecommunication and consumer electronics.

About II-VI Incorporated

II-VI Incorporated, a global leader in engineered materials and opto-electronic components, is a vertically-integrated manufacturing company that creates and markets products for diversified markets including industrial manufacturing, optical communications, military and aerospace, high-power electronics, semiconductor laser and thermoelectronics applications. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, with manufacturing, sales, and distribution facilities worldwide, the Company produces numerous crystalline compounds including zinc selenide for infrared laser optics, silicon carbide for high-power electronic and microwave applications, and bismuth telluride for thermoelectric coolers.

In the Company's infrared optics business, II-VI Infrared manufactures optical and opto-electronic components for industrial laser and thermal imaging systems and HIGHYAG Lasertechnologie GmbH (HIGHYAG) manufactures fiber-delivered beam delivery systems and processing tools for industrial lasers. 

In the Company's near-infrared optics business, Photop Technologies, Inc. (Photop) manufactures crystal materials, optics, microchip lasers and opto-electronic modules for use in optical communication networks and other diverse consumer and commercial applications. Photop Aegis, Inc. (Aegis) manufactures tunable optical devices required for high speed optical networks that provide the bandwidth expansion necessary for increasing internet traffic. Through its Australian subsidiary, Photop AOFR Pty Limited, Aegis also manufactures fused fiber components, including those required for fiber lasers for material processing applications, as well as optical couplers used primarily in the optical communication industry.

In the Company's military & materials business, LightWorks Optical Systems, Inc. (formerly Exotic Electro-Optics and LightWorks Optics, Inc.) manufactures products for military applications and precision optical systems, and components for defense, aerospace, industrial and life science applications.  Pacific Rare Specialty Metals & Chemicals (PRM) produces and refines a rare earth element and selenium. Max Levy Autograph, Inc. (MLA) manufactures micro-fine conductive mesh patterns for optical, mechanical and ceramic components for applications such as circuitry, metrology standards, targeting calibration and suppression of electro-magnetic interference.  VLOC manufactures near-infrared and visible light products for military applications and laser gain materials and products for solid-state YAG and YLF lasers.

In the Company's advanced products group, the Wide Bandgap Materials (WBG) group manufactures and markets single crystal silicon carbide substrates for use in the solid-state lighting, wireless infrastructure, RF electronics and power switching industries.  Marlow Industries, Inc. (Marlow) designs and manufactures thermoelectric cooling and power generation solutions for use in defense, space, photonics, telecommunications, medical, consumer and industrial markets. Worldwide Materials Group (WMG) provides expertise in materials development, process development and manufacturing scale up.  M Cubed Technologies, Inc. (M Cubed) develops and markets advanced composite materials serving the semiconductor, display, industrial and defense markets.

In the Company's active optical products segment, II-VI Laser Enterprise GmbH is an industry-leading manufacturer of high-power semiconductor laser components enabling fiber and direct diode laser systems for material processing, medical, consumer and printing applications. In addition, II-VI Laser Enterprise manufactures pump lasers for optical amplifiers for both terrestrial and submarine applications and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) for optical navigation, optical interconnects and optical sensing applications. II-VI Network Solutions Division is an industry leading manufacturer of customized solutions providing customers with end-to-end design and manufacturing support to enable rapid realization of customer-specific amplification and micro-optics solutions.