The_first_22-watt_sodium_laser_of_the_Adaptive_Optics_Facility

TOPTICA Photonics is a German manufacturer of

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

s for quantum technologies, biophotonics and material inspection.

History

The company was initially founded in February 1998 under the name TuiOptics GmbH for selling grating tuned

diode laser The laser diode chip removed and placed on the eye of a needle for scale A laser diode (LD, also injection laser diode or ILD or semiconductor laser or diode laser) is a semiconductor device similar to a light-emitting diode in which a diode p ...

s, but in 2001 it was renamed to TOPTICA Photonics AG. TOPTICA won the contract to provide

laser guide star A laser guide star is an artificial star image created for use in astronomical adaptive optics systems, which are employed in large telescopes in order to correct atmospheric distortion of light (called '' astronomical seeing''). Adaptive optics ...

s for the

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with ...

in 2010 and for the

Extremely Large Telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory under construction. When completed, it will be the world's largest optical and near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) agency, ...

in 2017. TOPTICA sponsored the joint OSA/DPG Herbert Walther Award and the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

's 2018 Norman F. Ramsey Prize. Since 2021 Toptica is entitled for research and development incentivation from the state of Germany (BSFZ).

Locations and corporate structure

TOPTICA Photonics AG is a privately held

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

headquartered in Graefelfing near Munich in Germany with more than 490 employees and appr. 130 M€ turnover. Its subsidiary TOPTICA Photonics Inc. maintains the US facilities in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, whereas the Japanese subsidiary TOPTICA Photonics K.K. is headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and the Chinese subsidiaries are located in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. The subsidiary TOPTICA Projects

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

develops

s. In 2023 Azurlight Systems (France) was acquired and added under the name TOPTICA Photonics SAS.

History

Locations and corporate structure

References

Further reading