Thorlabs has added mid-infrared laser capabilities with the acquisition of Maxion Technologies Inc. from Massachusetts-based contract research provider Physical Sciences Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2000 by scientists and engineers from the US Army Research Laboratory, Maxion Technologies of College Park, Md., manufactures interband cascade (IC) and quantum cascade (QC) laser products with output in the 3- to 12-µm range. The devices can be integrated into products aimed at improving chemical sensing, free-space optical communications and infrared countermeasures. The Maxion group will join the Thorlabs quantum electronics (TQE) team, adding high-power GaAs laser diodes and microelectromechanical systems-based tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers to the team’s design and manufacturing capabilities. “The addition of IC/QC lasers is a perfect complement to TQE’s existing semiconductor laser technologies, which include InP molecular beam epitaxy wafer growth and volume wafer fabrication and optoelectronics packaging infrastructure,” Thorlabs President and Founder Alex Cable said. The acquisition will enable the vertically integrated laser company to manufacture semiconductor lasers with output in the 0.7- to 12-µm wavelength range for markets including industrial sensing, medicine, life science, telecommunications and instrumentation. For more information, visit: www.thorlabs.com