Special Report

SPECIAL REPORT

A new generation of high-power, high-repetition-rate picosecond (ps) lasers sufficiently dazzled judges at the Innovation Award Laser Technology 2008 to place Lumera Laser (Kaiserslautern, Germany; www.lumera-laser.com) among the three finalists at Innovation Award Laser Technology 2008. The manufacturer of advanced solid-state lasers for microprocessing was recognized for having made an outstanding innovation in the field of laser technology.

Lumera’s so-called Rapid technology is built around a new ultrafast laser source that provides improved quality in laser micromachining. The company introduced a forerunner of this technology in 2003 with the Staccato, the first industrial ps laser based on a 10-W, 50-kHz ND:Vanadate regenerative amplifier. Applying what it had learned on this project, the team led by managing director Achim Nebel developed the Rapid laser to achieve better performance and higher micromachining speeds. The Rapid series was launched in 2005 with a 2-W version. The series now includes models with 10-, 25-, and 50-W output power, generating 10-ps-pulses with repetition rates as high as 1 MHz. Rapid lasers are suited for micromachining electronic, semiconductor, medical, and solar technology products.

The other finalists were Daimler AG, whose robot-guided remote scanner for laser welding earned it the top prize, and Trumpf Laser for its ultrafast laser for industrial micromachining.

The Innovation Award Laser Technology is a European research prize awarded every other year by the associations Arbeitskreis Lasertechnik e.V. and the European Laser Institute ELI. The international jury consists of 10 members from industry and the research community. The award ceremony was held 8 May in the town hall of Aachen, Germany.