On the 5th and 6th of June, the annual Laser Innovative Technologies workshop by the Czech Optical Cluster took place in Dolní Břežany (HiLASE Centre and ELI Beamlines), including international attendees.
The programme included talks by representatives from a wide range of institutions. Aside from HiLASE Centre and the Czech Optical Cluster, the following were represented: ELI Beamlines, Institute of Scientific Instruments, Institute of Photonics and Electronics, Network Group, Narran, B-phot Brussels Photonics, Litek, I-Photonics, OPTOMAN, Altechna, Crytur, LaserTherm, Charles University, CEITEC and Brain4Industry.
Laser applications and technologies are an important pillar of the Czech Optical Cluster and the international workshop Laser innovative technologies confirmed that our members are among the world leaders in the field of innovation. Natural industry synergies and the promotion of cooperation are key activities of the Optical Cluster. Sharing experiences and establishing international collaborations was also the aim of this workshop, where we had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Lithuanian laser ecosystem and its representatives. The Czech Optical Cluster has also recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Photonhub and we have become members of this platform as well. Photonhub is a European optics platform based in Brussels and I believe that we will be able to help our members even better and more effectively in establishing new collaborations. Many thanks go to our members ELI Beamlines and HiLASE, who helped us with the organisation of the meeting and allowed us to use their state-of-the-art facilities.
_ Ing. Silvie Skyvová, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Czech Optical Cluster
Within the agenda for Wednesday, the announcement of LIDT Challenge, which, in this installment, tested highly reflective coated mirrors, took place. The winner, for the second year in a row, was EKSMA Optics, with a sample with a value of 0.16 J/cm².
The annual LIDT Challenge is an opportunity for optical component manufacturers to see how their products perform when tested using our cutting-edge PERLA laser system. This year, we tested eight mirror samples with a diameter of 2 inches and a highly reflective coating for a 0° angle of incidence using the s-on-1 method according to ISO 21254-2:2011. To learn more about the LIDT Challenge and this year’s results, click HERE.
In a talk by Pavel Peterka (Institute of Photonics and Electronics), the new LasApp (Breakthrough Laser Technologies for Smart Manufacturing, Space and Bio-Tech Applications) project was introduced. The project consists of four research objectives: advanced fiber laser technologies and applications, applications of lasers in space, laser applications in biotechnology, and lasers for smart manufacturing.
