Photonics Is Becoming A Key Security Technology
LASER World of PHOTONICS 2011 will showcase Security and Defense applications
Security and defense has become one of the world's greatest twenty-first century challenges. The rapid development of optical technologies in the last few years have made possible many modern security and defense products that were previously impossible.
Recognizing this trend, LASER World of PHOTONICS 2011 has established "Security and Defense" as a separate exhibition area. There, manufacturers of both civil and military security systems, as well as systems and plant manufacturers and raw material suppliers will exhibit applications used for monitoring and recognizing objects and people, detecting hazardous substances or optimizing production processes. Within this themed area, companies and scientists will be able to exchange application-related experience and information on issues concerning security and defense.
Johannes Dumanski from Qioptiq Photonics GmbH & Co. KG, a leading security and space travel photonics component manufacturer, commented on the emergence of this market segment: "The 'asymmetric' threat, which has been noticeable for many years, is forcing security and defense firms to examine new scenarios. This is necessary both in preventive and reactive terms. In order to cope more easily with the tasks, greater use is being made of optical products and technologies both within the meaning of cross-sectional improvement of equipment standards and in regard to technical specialization."
Laser-based surveillance technologies are extremely important for domestic security, terrorism prevention and monitoring refugee movement. New products at the trade fair will include cameras in the Short Wave Infrared Range (SWIR), an underutilized wavelength range between 900 and 1900 nanometers, which are able to better recognize objects.
Night sight and thermal imaging devices are also improving with the newer technology. "The new laser night sight brighteners in Laser Class 1 give our police officers much more security during operations at night. Based on the high wavelength of around 1000 nm, the laser beam is completely invisible to the normal observer. However, it illuminates a cone with a diameter of 26 meters for clear recognition at a distance of 1000 meters", explained David Heckner from Laserluchs GmbH. This product will be exhibited on Booth 152 in Hall C1.
Improved fiber-optic sensor systems for property protection
Fiber-optic sensor systems provide solutions to increasingly more complex problems. Optical and photoacoustic motion detectors are used to monitor borders, enclosures, tunnels and hundreds of miles of pipelines. The sensors in these systems transmit accurate information about every movement on the monitored object and store an acoustic fingerprint of the intruder.
Jakob Skov, Managing Director of NKT Photonics A/S (Hall B1, Booth 461), describes the efficiency and future potential of the laser technology used for this purpose: "Ultra-low-noise fiber lasers from the KOHERAS model series with coherence lengths well over 100 kilometres increase detection and localization accuracy and extend the measuring distance in fiber-optic sensor systems, thus significantly overcoming conventional laser. The present and future extent of these security-related markets will produce additional growth potential for our industrial fiber laser products in the sensing sector."
Civil use of fiber-optic sensor systems
The Security and Defense focus area will also feature the civil use of fiber-optic sensor systems, including applications for minimizing underground mining risks or monitoring the load in wind farms. Other featured products include new 3-D scanners and innovative production line quality assurance technologies. The innovation drivers in this sector are the still very young terahertz technology and new processes for laser spectroscopy and imaging. Eight Fraunhofer institutes will present future-oriented applied research results relating to this topic on a joint stand in Hall B2 (Booth 417).
About LASER World of PHOTONICS
LASER World of PHOTONICS is regarded as the home base of the photonics industry. According to a survey conducted by Infratest, 98% of exhibitors and 97% of visitors were extremely satisfied with the trade fair and intend to return in 2011. In addition to business objectives, the cultivation of contacts in the industry plays a very important role for all participants.
This year will feature four focus topics "Lasers and Laser Systems in Production", "Green Photonics", "Biophotonics and Life Sciences" and "Security and Defense".
LASER World of PHOTONICS has been held every two years since 1973. In 2009 it attracted 1,034 exhibitors and 25,365 visitors. The number of exhibitors and visitors from outside Germany has risen continuously and is presently 57% for exhibitors and 51% for visitors.
A sister event, LASER World of PHOTONICS China, is the leading regional trade show for optical technologies in China. It takes place in Shanghai March 15-17, 2011.
Claudia Sixl, Project Group Leader for LASER World of PHOTONICS at Messe München, explains the special nature of this event: "Due to the close connection between industry and research at an international level and the fact that LASER World of PHOTONICS covers the entire spectrum of optical technologies from components and systems through to application areas, we offer unique advantages. These advantages have become indispensable in a tough competitive environment with which our customers are now faced. This fact is also recognized by all the leading names in the industry through their attendance at LASER World of PHOTONICS."
For more information, visit www.world-of-photonics.net/en
Please order your tickets online (http://world-photonics.net/en/laser/visitors/prices-tickets)
About the World of Photonics Congress
The World of Photonics Congress, Europe's largest photonics conference, is organized with the cooperation of the world's leading photonics organizations. This conference will be held May 22 to 26, 2011, concurrently with the LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair. The World of Photonics Congress conferences include:
- CLEO/Europe-EQEC, organized by the European Physical Society (EPS)
- Optofluidics and Manufacturing of Optical Components, organized by the European Optical Society (EOS)
- LIM - Lasers In Manufacturing, organized by the Scientific Laser Society (WLT)
- ECBO-European Conference on Biomedical Optics, organized by SPIE and the Optical Society of America (OSA)
- Optical Metrology, organized by SPIE Europe
- Application Panels - practical applications of lasers and photonics, organized by Messe München.
The program will also include conferences and events on material processing topics such as the "Lasers in Manufacturing" Conference (LIM 2011), which is being organized by the German Scientific Laser Society (Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Lasertechnik e.V. (WLT)).
The Congress program will include a new event, "Optofluidics", organized by the European Optical Society (EOS). The Optical Metrology Conference includes a new subconference, "Videometrics" in addition to its traditional program contents. For more information, visit: www.photonics-congress.com.
About Messe München International
Messe München International (MMI) is one of the world's leading trade-fair companies. It organizes around 40 trade fairs for capital and consumer goods, and key high-tech industries. Each year over 30,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, and over two million visitors from more than 200 countries take part in the events in Munich. In addition, MMI organizes trade fairs in Asia, Russia, the Middle East and South America. Via its six subsidiaries - in Europe and in Asia - and 64 foreign representatives actively serving over 90 countries, MMI has a worldwide business network. Environmental protection and sustainability are key priorities in all MMI´s operations, at home and abroad. For more information, visit: www.messe-muenchen.com.
With a combined total of 1,300 exhibitors and more than 50,000 visitors in Munich and Shanghai, Messe München International is one of the world's leading trade show organizers for lasers and photonics. The World of Photonics websites at www.world-of-photonics.net/en offer information on the photonics trade shows, industry information, market data, details on product innovations, and application reports.
SOURCE: LASER World of PHOTONICS 2011