Unveiling LAYERTEC’s 2µm Marvels

Join us as Dr. Stefan Schippel, our Research Project Coordinator, sheds light on LAYERTEC’s future developments within the UKPino project in the first part of this interview. Stay tuned for a closer look at innovation in action!

Today, LAYERTEC’s project coordinator, Dr. Stefan Schippel was interviewed by Annekathrin Walther about the company and its role in the alliance.

We are super happy about this as we believe that Stefan Schippel is interviewed very seldom and has much to tell. But let‘s see what he tells.

Annekathrin: Hello Stefan, thanks for your time. Can you tell me who is LAYERTEC and what’s special about it?

Stefan: Hello Annekathrin, you’re welcome. LAYERTEC is a manufacturer of high-performance laser optics. We have been in the ultrafast laser industry for 25 years, with a strong focus on developing optics for various laser wavelengths, e.g. Titanium Sapphire Lasers, lasers in the 1 µm range, and now for 2 µm with its cutting-edge industrial applications. By the way, one of our first customers for ultrafast optics was Ferenc Krausz who was recently awarded with the Nobel Price 2023 in Physics.

Annekathrin: Could you tell me what are the company’s main products?

Stefan: Our primary products are optics designed for high-performance laser applications from the UV to the near infrared wavelength range. Our core focus is on 1 µm optics, but we also develop UV optics, with a significant emphasis on 355 nm and 193 nm, as well as components for ultrafast laser pulses.

Annekathrin: What technology and expertise does the company bring to the consortium?

Stefan: LAYERTEC possesses various coating technologies in-house, such as Magnetron sputtering, Ion Beam Sputtering and Ion-Assisted Deposition. For the highly complex optical components required at 2 µm, we are planning to qualify Magnetron sputtering as we know it offers low losses and highly efficient coating capabilities.

Annekathrin: The value chain of the project includes many industries. Where does the company fit in it?

Stefan: We operate as component manufacturer and supply optics to laser manufacturers, research institutes, universities and system integrators within the value chain.

Annekathrin: What does the company understand by the innovation platform of this project?

Stefan: Our interpretation of the innovation platform involves collaborating with all project partners to jointly develop and implement manufacturing concepts and solutions.

Annekathrin: Which goals do you want to achieve?

Stefan: Within this project, we aim to establish expertise in metrology at 2 µm, focusing on very accurate measurements of reflectance, group delay dispersion, laser-induced damage threshold and absorption losses. And of course, we are going to develop special optics in collaboration with project partners.

This was the first part of Stefans interview. Click here for the second part: Continuing the Journey: Dr. Stefan Schippel Unveils Future Developments in 2 Micron Innovation.