ANALYSIS: THE PHOTONICS LEADERS ANALYSIS: ???????????
Four decades of innovation
1984 Laseroptik was founded by Dr Johannes Ebert, with help from his wife, Angelika, and current Senior Coating Manager, Werner Moorhoff.
1990
The company is running three Balzers coating machines, two of them still in Dr Ebert’s modified basement at home.
1992 A new building is erected and furni shed with seven additional Balzers coating machi nes being installed over the following years. The ‘Optics Barn’ (‘Optikscheune’) is con struc ted in the style of a Lower Saxony half-timbered house and is equip ped with the latest clean-room techno logy.
Wolfgang (right) and his brother, Martin, who leads on coating design, MS and spaceborne optics, cut the anniversary cake at a recent company party
partners and really bond with them in order to be on the safe side; that’s what we try to do.
Are there any particular technology challenges that you’re wrestling with at the moment? I also regard it as very challenging to stand in the forefront of technology. It’s sometimes hard to be on top of our capabilities in order to be ready for the next adventure.
You launched Laseroptik Express in 2006 and that was all about rapid prototyping. Is demand for it as strong today as it was then? It depends. There are times – before trade shows, for example – when there is a high demand for Express. Other times, it’s moderate. And then we have regular customers who know the back door and know how to get a quicker slot!
Have you had to adjust the offerings of your Express service in the time since its launch? No, it has always been the way it is. When an order for Express 24-hours comes in, then it’s my job to guide it through the whole company.
The skills shortage is a major issue we hear a lot about across the entire industry. Are you facing a similar challenge in getting the right skilled technicians and engineers into your business? Yes, there is quite some competition for talent. But I think we have a special offering
www.electrooptics.com
to candidates. We have our kindergarten; we have no shift work here; we share the profit with our employees. And, somehow, it still feels like a big family. I think it is an interesting offering for candidates.
Could you share any insight into what critical products or technologies you’re focusing on for, say, the next 24 months? There is a kind of secret that I can tell you about – there is a special programme for large optics for high-power laser systems, and especially laser fusion [see page 7 for more details of this ambitious programme]. The optics must withstand even higher laser power and have a better lifetime and performance.
Are there any particular corporate goals you have for Laseroptik in the years ahead? Yes, we would like to stay at the forefront of technology, and to continue as pioneers in the market of thin-film coatings.
Are there any major revenue drivers that drive the success of the business on the horizon? Not really, at the moment. Plenty of photonic systems go into quantum research, and we are part of that. I imagine that the market for high- power laser systems and their accessories will grow in the future. As we know, there have been breakthroughs in the field of laser fusion and there is a high demand for sophisticated laser optics. That’s good for
1999
During a two-year R&D partnership with a firm based in the US, Martin, the founder’s elder son, develops a unique magnetron sputtering system and establishes this technology at Laseroptik.
2002 Under the leadership of Dr Ebert’s sons, Martin and Wolfgang, a new company building – the ‘Laserhof’ – is erected. It provides additio nal space for a number of coating machines in three clean rooms.
2006 Laseroptik Express – a rapid prototyping and overnight coating service – is launched, with more than 100 orders pro cessed in the first year.
2007 Laseroptik becomes the first professional coating company outside the US to offer IBS coatings. Due to the high demand, capacity has increased to today’s 18 machines, including four for large optics.
2008 Wolfgang takes over the general management of the firm from his father.
2011 LOOP (the Laseroptik Online Portal) is launched, allowing customers to individually configure and buy laser optics online. The web-based system offers access to a selection of more than 1,200 coatings and 390 standard substrates, with 26,000 different coating designs and 12,000 substrates.
2014
The ‘Laserhof’ is expanded to meet the strong demand for high-power optics, with tailored clean rooms for bigger IBS machines. Today, more than 40 coating machines (18 IBS) produce 180,000 coated optics a year.
2017 Laseroptik is awarded the national SME prize (‘Deutscher Mittelstands preis’) for its social ethics and ecological foci.
2021
The company is visited by Germany’s then-Chancellor, Dr Angela Merkel, and she is given a full tour of the site.
the business, it’s good for the industry at large and it’s good for society, because a lot of those applications will really move things forward in a positive direction.
Finally, looking back, there were significant moments where you had to upscale the amount of clean-room space that you had with new buildings – you’ve moved from one building to two buildings to three buildings now – are there going to be any more? There is some space left on
our site for another building… and I often get asked by my employees if we want to build it. Now, it’s not a question of ‘if’; the question is ‘when’ and what will be inside… EO
To see a video of this interview – and an exclusive behind-the- scenes look at the Laseroptik facilities – please go to www.
electrooptics.com or visit our YouTube channel
May 2024 Electro Optics 21
Laseroptik
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