Europe blazes a trail in laser technology
Fibre lasers accounted for only about 10 % of the laser market share in 2007. With a growth rate of about 25 % per year, that share was set to be more than 30 % of all industrial lasers sold by 2013. Scientists initiated the EU-funded project 'Leadership in fibre technology' (LIFT) to develop a greater market share for existing applications and create new market opportunities for a world leading position. Scientists developed innovations beyond the current state of the art, targeting advances in high-brilliance fibre laser technology for use in three important areas. These were laser materials processing, health care delivery and cost-effective manufacturing of solar cells for renewable energy. Among the technologies developed, the cold-ablation fibre laser exploiting ultra-short pulses is expected to penetrate a new market (100 million euro per year) for processing ceramics. The visible-range fibre laser should enable new eye therapies and could be the first high-brilliance source for laser projection displays (15 million euro per year). The lasers could also form the basis of next-generation manufacturing tools (80 million euro per year). Taken together, LIFT technology should ensure that the EU corners the booming international laser market through advances in existing applications and new opportunities. More information is available on the project website.
Keywords
Fibre laser, high-brilliance, cold-ablation, ceramics, visible-range, eye therapy, projection display, manufacturing
