After having three successful bi-annual IR WORKshops previously held at the LASER COMPONENTS Corporate Headquarters in Olching, Germany, the idea was developed to launch a U.S. version in the alternating years. As a result, we organized the 4th International WORKshop on Infrared Technologies November 8 – 9, 2017 in Tempe Arizona – home of Arizona’s largest public state university (ASU).
One of the keynote speakers Aidan Brooks, from LIGO Labs CalTech and team member of the 2017 Nobel Prize winning group in Physics, opened the event speaking about the requirements of the third generation gravitatonal wave detectors. The agenda covered a vast majority of topics including: IR Detectors and new materials development, Mid-IR spectroscopy and sensing, Quantum Cascade Lasers, and commercial applications.
Gail Overton, Senior Editor from Laser Focus World, has dedicated a featured article highlighting the advances in Infrared Photodetectors, a topic that was covered at the WORKshop. IR detectors, from shortwave to (very) longwave, are improving in performance; whether this is related to new compound semiconductors or because they operate in cryogenic, room-temperature, or high operating temperature (HOT) conditions. We invite everyone to read the detailed overview:
goo.gl/ah2P75
To round off the two-day event, five participating students have been honored for their outstanding work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The IR WORKshop offered them the perfect platform to share their experience, talk to industry leaders, and potentially look for job opportunities.
The well-balanced program of theory and applications attracted about 80 engineers, general managers, industry professionals, and students. A well-respected Advisory Board, MIRTHE+ Photonics Sensing Center at Princeton University, and the Center for Photonics Innovation at Arizona State University greatly contributed to this success.
