Comprehensive, it seems, just got more comprehensive. That’s the key take-away following the acquisition of VALO Innovations, a German start-up specializing in ultrashort-pulse fibre lasers, by HÜBNER Photonics, one of the optics industry’s leading lights and home to an already broad portfolio of compact single-frequency CW lasers, diode-laser modules and nanosecond pulsed lasers across the full UV, visible and near-IR spectrum.

For its part, Hannover-based VALO Innovations represents an intriguing diversification opportunity, with proprietary fibre-laser technology and “market-unique short-pulse performance” (pulse lengths of less than 50 fs, up to peak powers above 2 MW) opening up – indeed underpinning – new ultrafast applications in bioimaging, spectroscopy and optogenetics. Here, Oliver Prochnow, CEO of VALO Innovations, tells Physics World why his team’s customer-centric approach to product development and a complementary offering in the ultrashort-pulse regime represent the perfect addition to the HÜBNER Photonics portfolio.

What are the anticipated upsides following the acquisition of VALO Innovations?

During our exploratory conversations last summer, both parties quickly realized that the acquisition was a win-win. From the HÜBNER Photonics side, VALO Innovations represents a compelling technology fit, complementing its established portfolio of high-performance laser products for advanced imaging and analysis applications, including the Cobolt lines of single-frequency CW nanosecond pulsed lasers, the C-FLEX laser combiners and the widely tunable, single-frequency CW laser C-WAVE. Put simply: ultrafast lasers represent a natural complement to the HÜBNER Photonics portfolio and VALO Innovations provides the ideal vehicle to fast-track that ambition.

For the VALO Innovations team, meanwhile, we are now positioned to develop and scale our femtosecond fibre-laser offering within an established innovation and manufacturing ecosystem. That means full integration with the in-house R&D and product development functions at the parent company, plus the ability to benefit from economies of scale when it comes to component/subcomponent purchasing.

It’s worth adding that VALO Innovations and HÜBNER Photonics are also an excellent fit on a personal level, with a commonality of approach when it comes to our customer orientation, product development and commercial strategy.

How has your role evolved within HÜBNER Photonics?

As CEO of VALO Innovations, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of HÜBNER Photonics, I am responsible for the parent group’s ultrafast fibre-laser market segment. That means owning and articulating the technology roadmap for the femtosecond product line while delivering our commercial growth targets in research and industry applications. Operationally, we are in the process of extending the office and laboratory space of the VALO Innovations division here in Hannover. We are also building up the team, recruiting talented scientists, engineers and product managers with specialist capabilities in ultrafast fibre-laser technologies and applications.

What differentiates VALO Series fibre lasers from the competition?

Our fibre-laser technology is based on the interaction between linear and nonlinear optical effects. In broad terms, we have found a way to control all phase contributions that affect pulse quality, a capability that enables us to generate very clean and extremely short pulse durations without any additional nonlinear broadening after the laser. As such, VALO Series lasers are compact and stable turnkey systems – including integrated group-velocity dispersion pre-compensation control – which enable us to scale the energy of ultrashort laser pulses while yielding the same clean pulses in the sub-50 fs regime.

How are commercial applications shaping up for the VALO Series?

We’re making inroads with a range of ultrafast imaging applications, including multiphoton microscopy (to study complex and dynamic biological processes deep within living tissue), optogenetics (which controls the activity of neurons or other cell types using light) and with amplifier seeding (in which femtosecond pulses increase the energy of selected laser pulses by several orders of magnitude).

It’s very much a mixed customer base, comprising research laboratories as well as industry OEMs who integrate our sources into their multiphoton microscopy/spectroscopy systems. For the latter, the benefits of ultrashort pulses are clear: a 40 fs pulse, for example, yields a x5 higher peak power versus a 200 fs pulse. That, in turn, means greater signal efficiency, enhanced penetration depth in tissue, better contrast and reduced photothermal damage.

What’s coming next on the development roadmap?

In the near term, we want to “industrialize” the femtosecond product line by transferring best-practice production models from the wider HÜBNER Photonics laser portfolio. Right now, the emphasis is on continuous improvement and internal benchmarking along a number of key coordinates, including manufacturability, device testing and quality control, long-term reliability, packaging and after-sales service. Looking ahead, we also want the VALO Series to be a scalable technology platform – both in terms of power levels and wavelengths – to broaden our access to emerging applications in life sciences and microscopy.

How important is customer engagement in shaping product innovation for the VALO Series?

We have an ongoing dialogue with our early-stage customers and R&D partners, figuring out what needs are not being met and how our lasers can help end-users to do their jobs better. Up to now, it’s been mainly me initiating these conversations, though in future much of the responsibility for requirements-gathering and prioritization will switch to our product managers.

It’s still early days, but what are the main operational benefits that you’re seeing since the acquisition?

Joining forces with HÜBNER Photonics feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to embed the VALO Innovations start-up model within an established laser manufacturing operation. We’re already benefiting from the open, collaborative and supportive environment here, with very close engagement between HÜBNER Photonics teams in Germany, Sweden and the US when it comes to product development and innovation. Another benefit is the uptick in lead generation given that VALO Innovations is now integrated with an experienced in-house sales team and global distributor network, while we also benefit significantly from our direct access to the group’s other core functions such as finance, legal and HR.