Solid-state Compact Blue-green Lasers: Research and Development; Practical Implementation and Applications in
Science and Technology
Stepan Essaian Spectralus Presentation
April 22 2009
April 19, 2023 1SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
Introduction to Spectralus
April 19, 2023 2
• Founded in 2003• Funded by angel investors in 2003-06• Raised expansion round of funding in 2007• Partnered with Satori Electric Co. in 2007• Now expanding production and sales
• Headquarters in Santa Clara, CA (USA) →• Management• Marketing and sales• Customer support• Laser lab
• Production facility in Yerevan, Armenia• Crystal manufacturing• World-class crystal R&D group• Upgrades completed in 2008: Disco saw, polishing machines, etc. for better production capabilities
• Experienced team• Strengths in crystal, optics, and laser design & manufacturing, consumer electronics, and instrumentation
SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
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Spectralus’ Periodically Poled Crystal Technology
• Spectralus developed and began production of new nonlinear optical crystals:
periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate and lithium tantalate
• Also known as: periodically poled LiNbO3, MgO:LiNbO3, and LiTaO3
• These crystals enable new laser capabilities because of their advantages over
traditional materials
• Wavelength conversion ~10x to100x more efficient than in old materials (KTP, LBO)
• They can be engineered for any target wavelength: UV, visible, IR, THz
• They are suitable for volume manufacturing for large consumer markets
• Low cost is achievable via proprietary wafer-scale production process
SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
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Spectralus’ Nonlinear Crystal Technology: What is Different?
• Nonlinear crystals convert laser wavelength from efficient IR range (1064nm, 976nm,
810nm) to application-desirable 532nm, 488nm, 460nm, 405nm, 355nm, etc.
• Traditional (uniform) crystals phase-match (synchronize) fundamental and converted laser
beams within directions and nonlinearities defined by nature:
• Periodically poled crystals use highest nonlinearity coefficient and convert any wavelength
(color) by appropriate design of poling period
P P
P2
Direction of polarization
of ferroelectric material
P2
PP
deff -deffdeff -deff deff -deff
deff -deff
SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
Comparison / Bulk Type and Waveguide
• Waveguide
Advantage :
・ High conversion efficiency
by keeping incindent laser beam
intensity
Disadvantage :・ Low yield due to very small
incidence area
・ High cost due to low yield
Comparison / Bulk Type and Waveguide
• Bulk Type
Advantage : Suitable for Mass-production
due to wider incidence area
than Waveguide
Lower cost than Waveguide
due to better production yield
Ready-to-pole waferand poled grating
Finished PPMgOLN elements
Efficient nonlinear conversion in customer’s laser system
Spectralus’ PPMgOLN Technology in Pictures
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SHG crystals
OPO & DFG crystals
532nm green
488nm blue
MgO:LiNbO3 with our patented processing (semi-conductor-
fab compatible). US patent 7413635
periodically poleddomain grating
SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
Spectralus Microchip Technology
Spectralus Microchip is bulk type innercavity element, not a waveguide. Length of the Microchip is only 1-2mm which enables us producing compact size Green DPSS laser .
Performance:Output power : 100-150mW (CW) WPE : 10-15 %
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808nm (IR Pump laser )
Lens Microchip Element
Main Green Laser Architectures
April 19, 2023 SPECTRALUS CONFIDENTIAL 9
IP: Kuehnelt et al., US2007081564:•Optically pumped semiconductor laser platform•Discrete components, multiple alignment steps (cost!!!)•Great packaging but low efficiency (7%) and high cost
IP: Shchegrov, A.Mooradian et al, US 7,359,420•Electrically pumped semiconductor laser platform•Discrete but components, medium cost, efficiency ~9%•Technology, still needs work. But company is no longer …
Spectralus Microchip DPSS Laser
IP: S. Essaian et al, US application 11/ 788916, publication number 20080317072.• 808nm diode pumped solid state microchip laser platform• Monolithic structure, practically no alignment steps, low cost• High efficiency, 15-20%
Markets and Applications: Spectralus’ technology is enabling for …
Laser InstrumentationFrequency-converted laser
sources for:
• Biomedical (flow cytometry, DNA sequencing, etc.) – 488, 532, 473 nm
• Semiconductor inspection - 488, 532 nm
• Medical – 560-590 nm• Spectroscopy / security –
1.5-4.5 m
Consumer Electronics
Efficient, low-cost visible lasers for
• Laser projectors
• Entertainment (e.g. laser shows)
Consumer Electronics
Efficient, low-cost visible lasers for
• Laser projectors
• Entertainment (e.g. laser shows)
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www.symbol.com/LPD
http://www.invitrogen.com/content.cfm?pageid=11556
SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
Military Applications
Key product: Spectralus green laser for
• Laser displays• Dazzlers
Market Opportunity in Mobile Projectors
• Mobile projectors is a huge emerging market, projected to be in multi-billion USD by 2011
• First-generation LED-based mobile projectors just appeared in 2008: Toshiba, 3M, Dell
• LEDs are not bright enough. Industry wants laser sources but there is no adequate green product (red & blue ok)
• In the green-laser product race, leading players include large corporations: Corning, Osram, Mitsubishi
• However, Spectralus’ unique technology has the best chance to win on efficiency and low production cost
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3MToshiba
Osram
Spectralus
SPECTRALUS CORPORATION
April 19, 2023 SPECTRALUS 12
Spectralus Green Laser Performance vs. Ambient Temperature
• The design temperature can (and will) be shifted towards higher values by changing the target PPLN temperature
December 12, 2008 SPECTRALUS CONFIDENTIAL 13
April 19, 2023 SPECTRALUS CONFIDENTIAL 14