A meeting of the Northeast Chapter of the LIA was held on April 20, 2011 in New Hampshire. This meeting featured a plant tour of PhotoMachining, Inc. – a high resolution laser job shop and systems integrator. Many different laser workstations and demos were presented, but in particular – holding with the theme of the event – the in house Lumera Super Rapid laser was shown. This laser is set up for using three different wavelengths (1064nm, 532 nm and 355 nm) at a 12 ps pulse length and delivered through a galvanometer beam delivery system with accompanying table motion. About 40 people attended the tour and then adjourned to the event hotel – the Crowne Plaza in Nashua, NH.
Over 80 people attended the talks and dinner. In attendance were three past LIA Presidents as well as several former and current board members. Some attendees flew in from as far away as California just to attend the event and listen to the talks.
The talks were outstanding and four experts in the field were chosen to each give a thirty-minute presentation on their technologies. Dr. Paul Graham of TRUMPF spoke about the TRUMPF ps laser and many of the interesting applications for this laser. Dr. Graham has a Ph.D. in femtosecond laser processing from the University of Glasgow. The second talk was given by Mr. Mike Armas of Raydiance lasers. Mr. Armas spoke about the 800 fs Raydiance laser and many of its applications. He is a 20 year veteran of the Photonics industry and has worked for companies such as Coherent, New Focus and General Atomics in many roles throughout the years. Mr. Sidney Wright gave a presentation on the Lumera ps lasers new burst mode technology and the effect on applications. He also spoke about the Jenoptic fs laser, a new laser on the market. Mr. Wright is a member of the team at RPMC lasers. Finally, Dr. Bill Clark of Clark-MXR gave a presentation on fs laser processing. Dr. Clark received his Ph.D. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1972 and is considered one of the leading authorities in short pulse processing worldwide.
The tour and venue were sponsored by PhotoMachining. Introductory remarks concerning the LIA were given by Dr. Ronald Schaeffer. He also briefly spoke on short pulse laser technology. Dr. Schaeffer is CEO of PhotoMachining, a 25 year industry veteran who received his Ph.D. from Lehigh University in 1986.