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| >> Saitama Opto Project |
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In Saitama Prefecture, there are a number of enterprises related to the optical field.
"Saitama Opto-Village Project" was initiated for the purpose of nurturing optical-related
industry as a new industrial brand in Saitama. The core activity for propelling this
project is so-called "Saitama Opto Project" which is to develop the next-generation
optical application system expected to be internationally competitive and to bring about
remarkable technological innovation.
This research collaboration project of industry, academia and government was selected
to be subsidized by a public-application-based research fund project (named "Regional
Innovation Creation Research and Development Project") of METI.
This is a project in which technical expertise of the eight optical-related companies in
Saitama Prefecture and technological seeds in RIKEN, the National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Saitama University and other
participating institutes are integrated to develop the next-generation optical application
system and so on. This is the one to succeed the former the Regional New Life
Consortium Research and Development Business Project (a public-application-based
research fund subsidized by METI) adapted in Fiscal 2006 and 2007. As the target of
this project, its outcome is expected to be commercialized after the project completion.
1. Research Theme: Development of the next-generation optical application system for
innovating optical frontier fields
2. Project Period: from July2, 2008 to March 31, 2009
3. Project Expense: 99,975,000 yen
4. Project Members:
[Industry] OPCell Co., Ltd. (in Kawaguchi City), OPTOQUEST Co., Ltd. (in Ageo
City), OPTORUN Co., Ltd. (in Kawagoe City), SIGMA KOKI Co., Ltd. ( in Hidaka
City), Sumita Optical Glass, Inc. (in Saitama City), TANAKA ENGINEERING INC.
(in Ogano Town), FUJINON CORPORATION (in Saitama City), Megaopto Co., Ltd.
(in Wako City)
[Academia] RIKEN (in Wako City), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology (AIST) (in Ibaraki Prefecture), Saitama University (in Saitama
City), Shibaura Institute of Technology (in Tokyo)
[Government] Saitama Industrial Technology Center(SAITEC) (in Kawaguchi
City)
5. Administrative Corporate Body: Saitama Small and Medium Enterprise Development
Corporation
6. Project Representative: Satoshi Wada (of RIKEN, Megaopto, Co., Ltd.)
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| >> Laser Optics Team |
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This team is in charge of materializing the new Yb crystal to be adopted in the highly
efficient system which can be applicable for industrial use.
Research is under way to realize and master the laser processing technology featuring
high-efficiency, high-output, ultrashort femtosecond pulses.
Merits and demerits of femtosecond laser processing:
Characteristic: enabling nonthermal processing without thermal strain
Application: microprocessing of metal, ceramic, and transparent materials
Issue: The electrical-to-optical (E-O) conversion efficiency of the existing laser is only
0.5%. It is necessary, therefore, to develop the low-cost laser processing equipment with
higher conversion efficiency.
Ultrashort pulse laser is currently used for microprocessing and measurement, but
practical technology to be applied in the field of processing is not yet established. This
project, therefore, aims at commercializing the use of the ultrashort pulse laser in
processing and making the prototype of the laser processing equipment as its final goal.
Development goal:
Maximum output: 20W or higher, and to perform testing of high-level processing
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| >> Fiber Optics Team |
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This team is in charge of materializing ultrashort pulse laser power transmission by
utilizing photonic crystal fiber (PCF) by distributed coordination.
"Laser Optics Team" is doing research on femtosecond laser processing, but for
functional applications of the most advanced laser, its transmission by fiber is
indispensable. This team, therefore, is conducting research on the fiber technology
which can be used for three-dimensional processing and femtosecond laser beam
transmission.
Development goal:
Transmission Test: 20W, Diameter of photonic crystal part: 100μm or more,
low dispersion
Conversion Efficiency 30% supercontinuum beam generation
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| >> Active Optical Components Team |
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This team is in charge of developing SESAM (semiconductor saturable absorber
mirrors) technology to materialize the stable laser system.
Specifically, this team is developing the SESAM elements for stabilizing the pulse laser
and the precision measurement technology which is required for laser mirrors.
 SESAM is currently used as a fixed passive component. When the output is increased
with that, however, the unstable oscillation and degradation of SESAM become
problems. In order to solve these issues, development of active coordinated
SESAM is under way, which actively controls the beam diameter in accordance
with the laser output and enables output increase, higher reliability,
and longer service life.
Development goal:
High energy laser damage threshold: 20W or higher
Reliability: Capable of continuous operation for 1,000 hours or longer
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