Light Conversion acquires Class 5 Photonics GmbH
The cooperation between the Lithuanian and German laser manufacturers is set to strengthen their market position as suppliers of advanced ultrafast technologies.
Light Conversion has acquired Class 5 Photonics GmbH, a Hamburg-based ultrafast laser system manufacturer, bringing together decades of expertise in femtosecond lasers, optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA), and advanced nonlinear technologies for the scientific market.
The acquisition connects two companies shaped by similar scientific backgrounds and technology-driven approaches to business. Both companies originated in research environments and have consistently focused on advancing femtosecond laser technology in close collaboration with the global scientific community. Therefore, combining the companies into a complementary technological powerhouse is a logical step.
“This decision was not accidental – over the years, we have collaborated with Class 5 Photonics on a number of projects and developed a strong understanding of each other’s expertise. At different stages, we have been both partners and competitors, and today we are bringing these experiences together within one team. This step allows us to retain and strengthen the expertise built within both companies while advancing the development of increasingly sophisticated laser systems,” shared Dr. Martynas Barkauskas, CEO of Light Conversion.
“The most demanding scientific breakthroughs require laser technologies that combine cutting-edge performance with reliability and scalability. With this partnership, we will have the extraordinary opportunity to combine the best solutions from both companies, paired with the most rigid femtosecond lasers on the market: CARBIDE and PHAROS. Finally, we can deliver complete end-to-end solutions, and our customers will benefit from a global sales and service network,” said Dr. Robert Riedel, CEO and co-founder of Class 5 Photonics.
Class 5 Photonics and its team will maintain the operations in Hamburg and continue the ongoing customer projects and collaborations with industry and research partners worldwide.
LIGHT CONVERSION: SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS
Over the past decades, both Light Conversion and Class 5 Photonics have contributed significantly to the advancement of OPCPA technology and its adoption in demanding scientific applications.
Light Conversion traces its origins to the Laser Research Centre at Vilnius University, where the company was established in 1994. From the beginning, the company focused on optical parametric amplifiers, that later became the foundation of its product portfolio and international growth.
The connection between the two companies is also rooted in the history of OPCPA itself. In 1992, a Vilnius University research group led by Light Conversion’s co-founder Professor Algis Petras Piskarskas demonstrated the first proof-of-concept of stretching, amplifying, and compressing chirped pulses in an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). Light Conversion was among the first companies to commercialize OPCPA-based technologies, introducing OPCPA concepts into its OPA platforms in the early 2000s before launching complete OPCPA systems in 2014. Since then, the company has continued developing high-power OPCPA platforms, including the SYLOS systems for ELI-ALPS, built together with Ekspla, as well as tabletop OPCPA solutions.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) has fundamentally transformed the field of ultrafast laser science and accelerated the broader adoption of these technologies in both research and industry over the past decade. Several years later, attosecond pulse generation was also recognized with the Nobel Prize, further increasing the demand for more powerful few-cycle lasers operating at longer wavelengths. In this context, OPCPA technology, driven by emerging 100 W-class laser systems, has become an important approach for applications including attosecond science, high-field physics, particle acceleration, ultrafast spectroscopy, and bio-imaging.
CLASS 5 PHOTONICS: NEXT-GENERATION EUV TECHNOLOGIES
Class 5 Photonics is a spin-off from DESY Synchrotron Research Center in Hamburg and GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Jena and Darmstadt. After developing high-power OPCPA systems for extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) synchrotron and free-electron laser applications, the founding team established the company in 2014 in Hamburg. Over more than a decade, Class 5 Photonics has built expertise in the most powerful tunable OPCPA systems, ultrafast mid-infrared lasers and coherent EUV sources, including systems developed for attosecond science, ultrafast spectroscopy, and semiconductor-related EUV applications. The company’s efforts have been recognized with awards including the SPIE Prism Award and the Laser Focus World Innovators Award, while collaborative projects with DESY, Hamburg University, and industrial partners continue advancing high-throughput EUV sources for next-generation semiconductor inspection and materials research.
Media Contact:Dr. Robert RiedelCEO and Co-FounderClass 5 Photonics GmbHinfo@class5photonics.comwww.class5photonics.com
Gabrielë Stankûnaitë
Head of Marketing and Communications
LIGHT CONVERSION
gabriele.stankunaite@lightcon.com
www.lightcon.com
