Light Conversion Femtosecond Lasers

Light Conversion's Pharos femtosecond laser: 15 years of precision

LIGHT CONVERSION first delivered PHAROSin 2006 – a compact, customizable diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) femtosecond laser. 15 years later, we can now take a moment to remember and celebrate the origin and evolution of PHAROS.

PHAROS laser evolved from the Twinkle laser manufactured by LIGHT CONVERSION in 1993-2000. Only 10 Twinkle lasers were produced. The year 2000 saw the birth of a project for a Yb-based DPSS femtosecond laser, and the first generation of PHAROS laser was launched at Laser World of Photonics 2005 and Photonics West 2006.  The first PHAROS units were delivered for scientific endeavors but shortly thereafter PHAROS lasers were tested in industrial environments. In 2008, PHAROS laser attracted particular interest in Japan and revealed its potential in an industrial application by proving reliable for 24 / 7 / 365 operation.  Other scientific and industrial applications soon followed.

As markets emerged with corresponding customer demands, production and engineering has been ramped up to meet these demands from 2006 to the present.  Along the way, there were numerous goals to conquer. Achieving a repetition rate of 1000 kHz, supplying PHAROS lasers to leading industrial machinery manufacturers, synchronizing the laser with synchrotrons, optimizing Carrier Envelope Phase (CEP) stabilization, and implementing BiBurst MHz/GHz functionality were among the top highlights.

PHAROS continues to evolve

The last 15 years have seen significant advances: the first PHAROS delivered 100 kHz pulse repetition rate, 4 W of power, and up to 0.2 mJ pulse energy, while the current output parameters have increased substantially to 1000 kHz, 20 W, and 2 mJ with additional parameters soon to be released.

PHAROS lasers are currently used for drilling and cutting various metals, ceramics, sapphire, glass, and material ablation for mass spectrometry, along with a variety of other applications enabling cutting-edge products and research. With major industrial customers operating in the display, automotive, LED, medical device, and other industries, the reliability of PHAROS has been proven by hundreds of systems in 24/7 production environments.

LIGHT CONVERSION customers are discovering new ways for PHAROS to make existing manufacturing processes more efficient, push the limits of precision manufacturing, and expand human knowledge through groundbreaking scientific discovery.

Here are some historical images of PHAROS and its predecessor systems:

PHAROS in 2005:

Twinkle laser 1999:

Pharos laser 2009

Light Conversion: PHAROS Modular-Design Industrial-Grade Femtosecond Lasers

Light Conversion's PHAROS is a series of femtosecond lasers combining millijoule pulse energy and high average power. PHAROS features a mechanical and optical design optimized for both scientific and industrial applications. A compact, thermally-stabilized, and sealed design enables PHAROS integration into various optical setups and machining workstations. Diode-pumped Yb medium significantly reduces maintenance costs and provides a long laser lifetime, while the robust optomechanical design enables stable operation in varying environments.

Light Conversion Femtosecond Laser CARBIDE series expansion

LIGHT CONVERSION, the industrial femtosecond laser manufacturer of CARBIDE and PHAROS lasers, is proud to present the update for its CARBIDE series. Along with 80 W and 40 W versions of CARBIDE, we are now offering a new 20 W model. The customer can now select an appropriate power level to fit their application precisely, while simply swapping to a more or less powerful unit without any modifications to the software or other parameters.

Light Conversion Femtosecond Lasers Product Comparison Table

Light Conversion Carbide Femtosecond Lasers for Industry and Science

Light Conversion's CARBIDE is an industrial femtosecond laser combining 40 W output power and 400 μJ pulse energies. It maintains all the best features of its predecessor PHAROS: tunable base repetition rate of the amplifier from 60 kHz to 1000 kHz, a built‑in pulse picker for pulse‑on‑demand control, computer controllable pulse duration 290 fs – 10 ps. In addition, CARBIDE introduces new technologies including a novel approach to the cavity design supporting fast laser warm up time which is important for medical applications. An intra‑cavity pulse picker allows reduction of cost and lower power consumption. A highly integrated LD driver and control electronics along with an embedded computer control provide lower electromagnetic noise emission. The other improvements provide a few times higher average output power to wall plug‑in efficiency, which also reduces cooling requirements.

Light Conversion Flint Femtosecond Yb Oscillators

The Light ConversionFLINT oscillator is based on Yb:KGW crystal end-pumping by high brightness laser diode module. Generation of femtosecond pulses is provided by Kerr lens mode-locking, once started, modelocking remains stable over a long period of time and is immune to minor mechanical impact. The oscillator can be equipped with external electrooptical Pulse Picker and appropriate timing electronics allowing selection of a single pulse at repetition rates up to 100 kHz. Piezo-actuator can be implemented in customized oscillators in order to control the cavity length. FLINT oscillator can also be equipped with Carrier Envelope Phase (CEP) stabilization system.