2013 Innovation Awards Winner
Winner: KMLabs (Kapteyn-Murnane Laboratories) – Booth 2026
Wyvern-HE compact femtosecond Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system
For the development of the Wyvern-HE – a smaller, single-stage, single-pump Ti:sapphire ultrafast amplifier delivering performance (9mJ @ 1kHz, with adjustable repetition rate) that has historically only been possible with much larger and more expensive multi-stage designs.
About the Wyvern-HE:
KMLabs says the motivation for the Wyvern-HE was provided by researchers at JILA, a joint institute of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, who needed high-energy pulses with excellent beam quality to pump an Optical Parametric Amplifier (OPA). Multi-millijoule, OPA pulses in the 1.3 - 2µm range could then be used to generate ultrafast, coherent, high harmonic x-rays for a host of applications in nano and molecular science. Additional applications include fundamental materials and surface science, attosecond science, pump-probe studies in chemistry and physics, and imaging and spectroscopy applications.
The Wyvern-HE design uses proprietary cryogenic cooling and regenerative amplification well beyond today’s commercial norms, which allow it to achieve performance levels unmatched by competitive offerings. It provides an unprecedented pulse energy specification of more than 9 mJ with less than 45 fs pulse duration at a 1 kHz repetition rate, again using a single, compact regenerative amplification stage. Competitive single-stage amplifiers currently offer up to 5 mJ pulse energies compared to 9 mJ from the Wyvern-HE. The peak power of the pulses in this system can reach as high as 0.2 TW, a new record peak power for output directly from a single-stage amplifier. Additionally, because of the simple design and reduced components, the new system is 50 percent smaller and 40 percent less expensive than current multi-stage ultrafast amplifier systems performing at the same level. According to KMLabs, further innovations in the Wyvern-HE series are possible as qualified pump lasers become available.
KMLabs will receive the 2013 CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Award Tuesday, June 11 at the CLEO Plenary and Awards Session. In addition to KMLabs’ winning entry, three other products will be recognized during the CLEO Plenary Session with honorable mentions:
Honorable Mentions:
Femtolasers Produktions GmbH – Booth 1735
First portable ultrafast Ti:Sapphire laser for biomedical applications
For the development of the INTEGRALTM CoreTM, the smallest commercially available sub-8 fs ultrafast Ti:Sapphire laser delivering 200 mW average power with 300 MHz pulse repetition rate for Terahertz, multiphoton microscopy, OCT, and spectroscopy applications.
Princeton Instruments – Booth 2124
IsoPlane next-generation, aberration-free spectrograph
For the development of the IsoPlane SCT 320 Schmidt-Czerny-Turner spectrograph that overcomes the limitations of traditional Czerny-Turner designs by totally eliminating field astigmatism and greatly reducing coma and spherical aberration.
TAG Optics - Booth 1228
TAG Lens 2.0: Using sound to shape light
For the development of an ultrahigh-speed varifocal lens that can extend the depth-of-field of conventional optical systems and enable user-selected focal lengths in micro-seconds through acoustic refractive-index changes.
Each year, the CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Awards Program honors the most timely, ground-breaking products in the field of laser science. Designed to showcase some of the most significant new products in the field, Innovation Award entries are evaluated on criteria critical to product success: impact, functionality, life expectancy, effect on the optics industry, innovation and patents or trademarks.
The Innovation Awards Program allows CLEO exhibitors to showcase their latest products and services entering the marketplace. This award provides exhibitors the opportunity to reach the top industry decision makers in attendance at CLEO, the premier laser conference. It also offers a unique promotional opportunity with CLEO's partnership with Laser Focus World.
The Innovations Awards Program is sponsored by: