The International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®), which has a 29-year history as the conference where researchers and end-users meet to review the state-of-the-art in laser materials processing, laser microprocessing and nanomanufacturing as well as predict where the future will lead, will be held Oct. 23-27 at the Hilton located in Walt Disney World® Resort in Orlando, FL. From its inception, ICALEO has been devoted to the field of laser materials processing at macro, micro and nanoscales and is viewed as the premier source of technical information in the field.
Each year ICALEO features areas of topical interest. This year’s featured sessions include diode lasers for processing and pumping, laser process monitoring and control, laser processing of biological materials, lasers in nanotechnology and environmental technology, laser hybrid processing, laser manufacturing for alternative energy sources and laser business development.
“The ICALEO Program Committee has put together yet another strong program with a high number of contributions from researchers from both academia and industries all over the world in areas of traditional and emerging laser applications,” explained ICALEO Congress General Chair Kunihiko Washio of Paradigm Laser Research Limited, Tokyo, Japan.
Plenary Session
This year’s plenary session will feature topics on material nanoscience, photonics and technologies for evolutional innovation with a keynote given by Dr. Hongjie Dai, a professor at the Department of Chemistry and Laboratory for Materials, Stanford University. The title of the keynote is “The Story and Prospects of Carbon Nanoscience and Technologies for Future Exciting Applications,” and will give an overview of graphene- and carbon-nanotube-based nanoscience and their evolutional future applications. The following presentations will cover fascinating topics on conversion of cement material to transparent metals and superconductors, quantum cascade lasers and their applications, as well as the magic of the dressed photons and their applications such as nanofabrication. This is one session you should not miss!
Laser Materials Processing
ICALEO 2011 will offer three conferences covering an expanding array of laser applications. The Laser Materials Processing Conference (LMP), organized by Conference Chair Stefan Kaierle of Fraunhofer ILT, Aachen, Germany, continues its theme on high speed and flexible macroscopic laser processing applications, equipment and systems. The laser is a fundamental tool in today’s industrial production. The progress in high brightness processes brought on by advances and improvements in high power fiber, disk and direct diode lasers will be prominently featured.
“New enthusiasm is spreading around and the companies in the laser field tell new success stories of growth and expansion. This appears to be a fantastic starting point for ICALEO’s 30th year,” said Kaierle. “The LMP conference program is full of excellent contributions covering 18 sessions in many different application fields. In particular, a large amount of abstracts have been submitted to welding and rapid prototyping processes like selective laser melting and laser metal deposition. The understanding of processes in terms of modeling as well as quality monitoring and control are well covered.”
Laser Microprocessing Conference
The Laser Microprocessing Conference (LMF) will be chaired by Henrikki Pantsar of Cencorp Corporation and will cover processes and systems for microscopic applications, especially those that take advantage of the small feature sizes and high precision offered by picosecond and femtosecond ultrafast lasers and wavelength optimization. As the overall economical setting is improving, more efforts are being directed towards research and development to discover future possibilities and maintain growth through innovation. For many years, trends that are visible in the conference have turned out to be great business opportunities during the successive years.
LMF will feature more than 80 technical papers and seven invited papers and a variety of application-oriented sessions such as photovoltaics, thin film processing, medical devices and biomedical applications, etc., highlighting the versatility of laser microprocessing.
Trends this year include laser surface modification, structuring, processing of transparent materials and different micro deposition processes. General aspects of micromachining and ablation are well represented as well as thin film processing, photovoltaics, drilling, new optical concepts, laser sources and many others. The presentations introduce the latest and greatest advancements in their respective fields, presented by world’s leading companies and research organizations.
Nanomanufacturing Conference
Yongfeng Lu, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and Xianfan Xu, Purdue University, will co-chair the Nanomanufacturing Conference. The conference will explore topics in the still emerging, but rapidly advancing, field of nanotechnology and the role various lasers can play. Much progress has been achieved in laser direct writing for nano-machining, nanofabrication using femtosecond lasers and laser-assisted growth of nanostructures. This conference will highlight research in emerging nanomanufacturing technologies in 3-D micro/nanomachining, 2-photon lithography, digital fabrication, nanoparticle formation, surface nanostructuring and laser-assisted growth and expitaxy. These studies encompass a variety of applications, including photonic crystals, nanofluidic devices, opto-fluidic and nanoscale plasmonic structures.
Business Forum, Panel Discussion, Short Courses and Closing Plenary
This year’s Business Forum and Panel Discussion, a popular feature at ICALEO, organized by Neil Ball of Directed Light Inc. and Sri Venkat of Coherent Inc., will focus on photonics markets, opportunities and trends in the rapidly growing economies of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations. The panel discussion portion will address what industries within these nations are embracing, industrial laser technology, what applications have gained acceptance and what the future holds for the expansion of laser technology in their regions. In addition, insight with regard to regulatory issues such as government funding and policy towards the photonics industry will be provided. An overview of educational institutions and research centers will also be addressed.
The Laser Solutions Short Courses, organized by Silke Pflueger of Laserline, Inc., are ideal for those who want to receive a complete overview on the state-of-the-art in specific areas of interest to participants. They are being held the day before the main conference, enabling all attendees to participate without time restrictions during the technical sessions. The short courses have been selected to complement the papers offered at ICALEO by offering fundamentals and in-depth information on measurement techniques, systems and processes. They are taught by industrial photonics experts, and offer ICALEO attendees valuable insight into details not usually covered by the latest results presented in the technical papers – for no additional fee.
The Closing Plenary session is a joint LMP and LMF session featuring strategies, limits and challenges for advanced laser processing with two invited and three contributed presentations. LMP Chair Stefan Kaierle will give the first invited presentation on “Strategies of R&D and International Networking Towards the Evolution of Future Laser Materials Processing.” Following this, a distinguished and veteran researcher, Prof. Minlin Zhong of Tsinghua University, China, will give the second invited presentation on “Vision on Frontiers of Laser Manufacturing Research.” The following three contributed presentations will discuss various approaches towards realizing higher-throughput and more efficient laser materials processing.
Networking
The opening day of ICALEO features an evening reception hosted by LIA President Stephen Capp. Meet the LIA Executive Committee, Board of Directors and ICALEO Chairs. Join the LIA staff and mingle with old friends at this exciting event!
The Vendor Reception is a popular venue for attendees to learn about the latest products, meet the industry representatives who are working in the laser applications market and will be a valuable networking opportunity.
“One of the key benefits ICALEO offers has always been the great social atmosphere and networking opportunities for the attendees. This will prove particularly helpful in these turbulent times brought on by factors that have nothing to do with lasers!” said Washio.
The Advance Program, which gives details on conference events, speakers and topics, is available to download at www.icaleo.org. Should you have any questions on ICALEO 2011, e-mail icaleo@lia.org or call 407-380-1553. Hope to see you in Orlando, the City Beautiful, Oct. 23rd!