Arbor Photonics (Ann Arbor, MI) has signed an exclusive license agreement for chirally coupled core optical fiber with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The agreement grants Arbor Photonics rights to commercialize the fiber and devices enabled by the innovative design for lasers, optical amplifiers, and laser beam delivery.
The chirally coupled core concept, dubbed "CCC" or "3C" fiber, is a revolutionary type of optical fiber that uses an internal structure to produce single-spatial-mode output from very large-mode-area fibers, invented by professor Almantas Galvanauskas at the University of Michigan Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. The technology provides the basis for a breakthrough in laser performance that will be exploited by Arbor Photonics to produce high-power, short pulsed, singlemode fiber lasers bringing significant benefits to laser applications in microelectronics, solar-cell manufacturing, and defense.
According to Arbor Photonics CEO, Philip Amaya, "We believe that 3C fiber technology will enable fiber lasers with unprecedented performance in terms of average power, peak power, and brightness. Feedback from end users and OEMs in microelectronics and solar-cell manufacturing indicates that higher average power, short pulsed lasers are needed to improve manufacturing cycle time and reduce production costs. We're very excited that our first generation of 3C fiber lasers will help customers achieve this by delivering two to four times higher average power than is presently available."
Arbor Photonics is currently developing fibers and components for short pulsed fiber lasers with several times more average and peak power than is available from state of the art fiber lasers. Lab demonstrations are ongoing with 3C fibers to show the full potential of the technology.
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