Plenary Event
LASE Plenary and Hot Topics
30 January 2023 • 3:45 PM - 6:05 PM PST | Moscone Center, Room 207/215 (Level 2 South)
3:45 PM - 3:50 PM: Welcome and Opening Remarks
Stefan Kaierle, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany) and John Ballato, Clemson Univ. (United States)
3:50 PM - 3:55 PM: Announcement of the 3D Printing, Fabrication, and Manufacturing Best Paper Awards
Henry Helvajian, The Aerospace Corp. (United States)
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Plenary: Status and potential of fully integrated photonic systems
Arnan Mitchell, RMIT Univ. (Australia)
The potential for miniaturised optical systems to be printed onto integrated circuits and mass manufactured like consumer electronics has remained tantalisingly just out of reach for decades. The major challenge has been combining the vast array of fundamentally different elements into a fully functional system. This talk will present an overview of recent breakthroughs to achieve true integrated circuits that combine the mass manufacture of silicon, the ultra-low loss of nitride and active semiconductors through hybrid integration. Emphasis will be placed on the resurgence of lithium niobate and its potential to unlock the electromagnetic spectrum linking the visible, infrared, Terahertz and microwave regimes. The talk will conclude with a vision for the diverse applications that could be transformed by harnessing these fully integrated photonic circuits.
Distinguished Professor Arnan Mitchell leads the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (InPAC) at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. His research in micro-chip technologies combines electronics, acoustics, fluids, and light to create solutions for industrial and research end-users spanning precision measurement, high-speed fibre optic communications and point of care biomedicine diagnostics systems.
4:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Hot Topic: How laser AM can mitigate insecurities with supply chain issues and carbon footprint
Eliana Fu, TRUMPF North America (United States)
In recent times, the entire world has suffered from Supply Chain difficulties, in terms of shipments and deliveries of food, medicine and equipment. In manufacturing, Supply Chain issues have resulted in delays due to lack of materials and parts as well as lack of skilled labor. It is reassuring however, to know that Additive Manufacturing and Laser AM in particular, has a counterpoint for these difficulties. 3D Printing by Laser Powder Bed Fusion and/or Laser DED are ideal processes for manufacturing near or at the point of End Use. A significant leadtime advantage can be achieved as well as a reduced carbon footprint, which also makes financial sense as well as decreasing waste.
Eliana Fu has a Master’s and PhD in Materials Science from Imperial College. After working in Traditional Manufacturing with TIMET, she jumped to Additive Manufacturing at SpaceX and Relativity Space. She served as an advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Advanced Manufacturing Committee, is also on the Technical Advisory board of IperionX and recently was awarded TCT Women in 3D Printing Innovator award for 2022.
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Hot Topic: Innovations in lidar driving the next generation of autonomy and safety
Jason Eichenholz, Luminar Technologies, Inc. (United States)
This talk will describe how innovations starting from a “chip level up” component innovation strategy drives system design, architecture choices and industrialization processes to fuel a technological paradigm shift in 3-D sensing. These innovations are enabling some of the biggest industries in the world, including transportation, aviation and smart cities. As an industry we are just in the early stages of unlocking the potential of lidar technology and will to unlock the next generation of vehicle safety and automated driving capabilities. This talk will discuss these innovations and discuss how lidar technology is transforming entire industries today and why there’s no sign of slowing down.
Jason Eichenholz is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Luminar, a sensing technology company that will become the core platform to enable safe fully autonomous vehicles. As CTO, Eichenholz is responsible for research and development of new products, product roadmap and bringing Luminar’s technology to market.
5:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Hot Topic: Quantum computing with lasers
Jürgen Stuhler, TOPTICA Photonics AG (Germany)
Quantum computing is one of the most rapidly evolving fields of quantum technologies. It creates strong expectations with respect to technological progress, societal impact, and economic growth. Many of the currently existing quantum computing platforms build upon the availability of lasers and strongly depend on their performance. I will sketch use cases for lasers in quantum computing and discuss the related importance of their optical or technical characteristics as well as the relevance of features like footprint, ease of use, and uptime for the usability of quantum computers.
After more than 10 years in academic research on quantum optics (physics Phd in Constance/Germany, postdoc in Florence/Italy, atom optics group leader in Stuttgart/Germany), Juergen joined TOPTICA in 2006 to manage scientific laser sales & products. He coordinated quantum technology (QT) research projects & consortia, organized QT schools & conferences, and participated in QT panels & boards. As Vice President and head of the business unit Quantum Technologies, he is strategically responsible for TOPTICA’s success in the QT market.
5:15 PM - 5:45 PM
Plenary: First demonstration of fusion ignition by inertial confinement fusion (ICF) at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL
Jean-Michel Di Nicola, National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (United States)
On December 5th, 2022, the National Ignition Facility in Livermore California performed the first experiment demonstrating controlled fusion ignition in the laboratory. With a 2.05MJ UV laser drive delivered to the target, a neutron yield of 3.15 MJ was released by the fusion reactions in the capsule, providing a target gain of ~1.5x. The results of this experiment will be discussed along with the decades-long developments in optical materials, laser architectures, target fabrication, and target diagnostics enabling this recent accomplishment. We will discuss the next steps for NIF and an outlook to future High Yield applications and the pursuit of Inertial Fusion Energy.
Jean-Michel Di Nicola is the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser systems Chief Engineer and the acting Program Co-Director for Laser Science and System Engineering at LLNL. With his team, his role is to develop laser modeling codes and improve the NIF laser performance –beyond its initial requirements– in terms of precision, but also increased energy and power.
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM: Q&A for all speakers
6:00 PM - 6:05 PM: Announcement of the LASE AI/ML Best Paper Award
Stefan Kaierle, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany) and John Ballato, Clemson Univ. (United States)
Stefan Kaierle, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany) and John Ballato, Clemson Univ. (United States)
3:50 PM - 3:55 PM: Announcement of the 3D Printing, Fabrication, and Manufacturing Best Paper Awards
Henry Helvajian, The Aerospace Corp. (United States)
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Plenary: Status and potential of fully integrated photonic systems
Arnan Mitchell, RMIT Univ. (Australia)
The potential for miniaturised optical systems to be printed onto integrated circuits and mass manufactured like consumer electronics has remained tantalisingly just out of reach for decades. The major challenge has been combining the vast array of fundamentally different elements into a fully functional system. This talk will present an overview of recent breakthroughs to achieve true integrated circuits that combine the mass manufacture of silicon, the ultra-low loss of nitride and active semiconductors through hybrid integration. Emphasis will be placed on the resurgence of lithium niobate and its potential to unlock the electromagnetic spectrum linking the visible, infrared, Terahertz and microwave regimes. The talk will conclude with a vision for the diverse applications that could be transformed by harnessing these fully integrated photonic circuits.
Distinguished Professor Arnan Mitchell leads the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (InPAC) at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. His research in micro-chip technologies combines electronics, acoustics, fluids, and light to create solutions for industrial and research end-users spanning precision measurement, high-speed fibre optic communications and point of care biomedicine diagnostics systems.
4:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Hot Topic: How laser AM can mitigate insecurities with supply chain issues and carbon footprint
Eliana Fu, TRUMPF North America (United States)
In recent times, the entire world has suffered from Supply Chain difficulties, in terms of shipments and deliveries of food, medicine and equipment. In manufacturing, Supply Chain issues have resulted in delays due to lack of materials and parts as well as lack of skilled labor. It is reassuring however, to know that Additive Manufacturing and Laser AM in particular, has a counterpoint for these difficulties. 3D Printing by Laser Powder Bed Fusion and/or Laser DED are ideal processes for manufacturing near or at the point of End Use. A significant leadtime advantage can be achieved as well as a reduced carbon footprint, which also makes financial sense as well as decreasing waste.
Eliana Fu has a Master’s and PhD in Materials Science from Imperial College. After working in Traditional Manufacturing with TIMET, she jumped to Additive Manufacturing at SpaceX and Relativity Space. She served as an advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Advanced Manufacturing Committee, is also on the Technical Advisory board of IperionX and recently was awarded TCT Women in 3D Printing Innovator award for 2022.
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Hot Topic: Innovations in lidar driving the next generation of autonomy and safety
Jason Eichenholz, Luminar Technologies, Inc. (United States)
This talk will describe how innovations starting from a “chip level up” component innovation strategy drives system design, architecture choices and industrialization processes to fuel a technological paradigm shift in 3-D sensing. These innovations are enabling some of the biggest industries in the world, including transportation, aviation and smart cities. As an industry we are just in the early stages of unlocking the potential of lidar technology and will to unlock the next generation of vehicle safety and automated driving capabilities. This talk will discuss these innovations and discuss how lidar technology is transforming entire industries today and why there’s no sign of slowing down.
Jason Eichenholz is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Luminar, a sensing technology company that will become the core platform to enable safe fully autonomous vehicles. As CTO, Eichenholz is responsible for research and development of new products, product roadmap and bringing Luminar’s technology to market.
5:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Hot Topic: Quantum computing with lasers
Jürgen Stuhler, TOPTICA Photonics AG (Germany)
Quantum computing is one of the most rapidly evolving fields of quantum technologies. It creates strong expectations with respect to technological progress, societal impact, and economic growth. Many of the currently existing quantum computing platforms build upon the availability of lasers and strongly depend on their performance. I will sketch use cases for lasers in quantum computing and discuss the related importance of their optical or technical characteristics as well as the relevance of features like footprint, ease of use, and uptime for the usability of quantum computers.
After more than 10 years in academic research on quantum optics (physics Phd in Constance/Germany, postdoc in Florence/Italy, atom optics group leader in Stuttgart/Germany), Juergen joined TOPTICA in 2006 to manage scientific laser sales & products. He coordinated quantum technology (QT) research projects & consortia, organized QT schools & conferences, and participated in QT panels & boards. As Vice President and head of the business unit Quantum Technologies, he is strategically responsible for TOPTICA’s success in the QT market.
5:15 PM - 5:45 PM
Plenary: First demonstration of fusion ignition by inertial confinement fusion (ICF) at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL
Jean-Michel Di Nicola, National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (United States)
On December 5th, 2022, the National Ignition Facility in Livermore California performed the first experiment demonstrating controlled fusion ignition in the laboratory. With a 2.05MJ UV laser drive delivered to the target, a neutron yield of 3.15 MJ was released by the fusion reactions in the capsule, providing a target gain of ~1.5x. The results of this experiment will be discussed along with the decades-long developments in optical materials, laser architectures, target fabrication, and target diagnostics enabling this recent accomplishment. We will discuss the next steps for NIF and an outlook to future High Yield applications and the pursuit of Inertial Fusion Energy.
Jean-Michel Di Nicola is the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser systems Chief Engineer and the acting Program Co-Director for Laser Science and System Engineering at LLNL. With his team, his role is to develop laser modeling codes and improve the NIF laser performance –beyond its initial requirements– in terms of precision, but also increased energy and power.
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM: Q&A for all speakers
6:00 PM - 6:05 PM: Announcement of the LASE AI/ML Best Paper Award
Stefan Kaierle, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany) and John Ballato, Clemson Univ. (United States)