Bookham and LIEKKI to Demonstrate Compatible Pump and Optical Engine Modules at Photonics West
Lohja, Finland/Zürich, Switzerland January 17, 2007
Combined technology to support fiber laser and amplifier applications
LIEKKI Corporation, a leading supplier of highly doped fibers and optical engine modules for fiber laser and amplifier applications, and Bookham, Inc. (Nasdaq: BKHM), a leading provider of optical components, modules and subsystems, including high-power laser diodes, today announced their collaboration to offer a compatible optical engine and pump block unit. The companies’ combined technology will offer more compact and cost-effective fiber lasers and amplifiers and will be demonstrated for the first time at Photonics West later this month.
The combined products will enable system manufacturers to integrate key optical building blocks into compact systems and to significantly reduce design time and costs. LIEKKI’s amplifier optical engine and continuous wave (CW) optical engines are being combined with the Bookham pump block design, which incorporates a stacked system of multiple high-power laser modules and accessible water cooling elements. The combined products are designed for medium-power 10 - 30 W CW fiber laser and 10W output power amplifier applications, both CW and pulsed.
Dr. Berthold Schmidt, Director of Marketing for high-power laser diodes at Bookham, said: “Customers need more complete and modular solutions; by combining our products LIEKKI and Bookham are meeting exactly this requirement. Intelligent forward integration is a key strategy within the Bookham industrial laser portfolio and demonstrates our commitment to supporting fiber laser manufacturers. The combination of LIEKKI’s compact and ready-to-use fiber sub-assemblies and the proven reliability and brightness of the Bookham pump block will give customers the technology they need to meet their design requirements.”
William Willson, VP of Sales and Marketing at LIEKKI, commented: “The fiber laser and amplifier system manufacturers need cost-effective and highly reliable building blocks to design CW and pulsed laser system solutions rapidly and efficiently to their customers’ needs and specifications. They therefore need suppliers who offer compatible products, eliminating concerns about optical, electrical, mechanical or thermal compatibility. The building blocks that we are offering give original equipment manufacturers that security and the flexibility that they are looking for.”
LIEKKI and Bookham plan to extend this collaboration to further compatible modules.
Joona Koponen, Product Manager for optical engines at LIEKKI, explained: "LIEKKI and Bookham decided to engage into this collaboration as a response to customers asking for more complete and modular solutions. System providers want to keep control of the design of the overall system and to have the capability to better troubleshoot and field service their fiber lasers, when compared to fully integrated systems. The LIEKKI™ optical engine products are compact and ready-to-use fiber subassemblies for fiber laser and amplifier applications. They enable powerful designs and fast development times to the customers. Our optical engine products integrate fibers and components, as well as LIEKKI’s know-how in thermal management and fiber splicing, thereby alleviating the barrier to entry into the fiber laser and amplifier market space. The compatible modules also allow the system suppliers to preserve significant value in their product offering.”
