Dear Reader,

After falling infection rates in summer, we have once again been grounded by the “new” reality at the beginning of cold season. The hope remains that the economy will be less affected than in the spring. All companies have developed suitable hygiene concepts or tested and optimized functioning processes for mobile working in the best possible way.

At LASER COMPONENTS it is important to us that we stick to our long-term goals despite the incalculable extent of the pandemic, the end of which is still not foreseeable. We are using this quieter time to develop new products and technologies. In addition, investments in the order of 10 million euros have been completed or initiated in recent months.

First and foremost, we would like to mention our new production facility in Chandler, Arizona, which was ready to be occupied on schedule at the end of September after less than twelve months of construction. The almost 3,000 m² building is used for the development and production of avalanche photodiodes and infrared detectors, the demand for which has multiplied in recent months. For this purpose, state-of-the-art temperature- and humidity-controlled cleanrooms of class ISO7 (10,000 according to US standard FED-STD-209E) with airtight passages and an air shower were installed. The new building provides space for 60 employees working in a single shift and up to 200 employees working in three shifts. Since more space is now available, we have been able to double all critical production equipment and expand our automated testing capacities.

We have also invested diligently at the production site in Germany. For example, another large ion beam sputtering coating system for producing high-quality laser optics will soon be put into operation, as well as additional measuring stations, to determine the absorption by means of cavity ring-down spectroscopy. We start with testing at 1064 nm; however, 532 nm, and 355 nm are also possible. With a set of reference mirrors, absorption values in the range of R> 99.995% can be measured at 1064 nm.

At the end of November, a completely revised concept for the measurement of single-photon counters will be available. This allows several fiber-coupled and free-beam modules to be measured and characterized simultaneously. It is now also possible to measure at 505 nm in addition to 405 nm, 670 nm, and 804 nm, which is new. The beam paths are adjusted automatically, and the process flow from production to measurement has been optimized. The burn-in capacity for COUNT modules has been increased from 20 test stations to 80.

We will inform you about further details of these and other investments in the future in the coming months.

Yours,

Patrick Paul
Managing Director, Laser Components GmbH