Gooch & Housego

Optical and systems manufacturer !%Gooch & Housego%! of Somerset, UK, will lead the collaborative €4.5 million (about $5.9 million) European Union-funded FP7 project ISLA (Integrated disruptive components for 2-µm fibre Lasers), which it launched in October 2011 at Trinity College in Dublin. The 2-µm fiber laser technology has the potential to open applications in areas such as industrial processing, free-space communications and medical procedures because of its increased core size and higher nonlinear thresholds. It offers a tenfold increase in “raw power” compared with the current 1-µm-based technology. Its partners are Rofin Sinar Laser GmbH, Oclaro, !%15039%%Time-Bandwidth Products%!, the University of Southampton, Trinity College and Vivid Components.