The_first_22-watt_sodium_laser_of_the_Adaptive_Optics_Facility

TOPTICA Photonics is a 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" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

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 lasers, but in 2001 it was renamed to TOPTICA Photonics AG. TOPTICA won the contract to provide laser guide stars for the

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2 m across, ...

in 2010 and for the

Extremely Large Telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory currently under construction. When completed, it is planned to be the world's largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observator ...

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 k ...

's 2018 Norman F. Ramsey Prize.

Locations and corporate structure

TOPTICA Photonics AG is a privately held

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

headquartered in Graefelfing near Munich in Germany with more than 400 employees and appr. 100 M€ turnover. Its subsidiary TOPTICA Photonics Inc. maintains the US facilities in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

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

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and the Chinese subsidiaries are located in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. The subsidiary TOPTICA Projects GmbH develops laser guide stars.

History

Locations and corporate structure

References

Further reading