News at RP Photonics Consulting

2012-01-23: Dr. Paschotta became an SPIE Fellow

At the Photonics West conference in San Francisco, Dr. Paschotta received the honor of becoming a fellow of the SPIE. Only particularly distinguished SPIE members are elevated to that grade. Dr. Paschotta's research on passively mode-locked lasers has been recognized, also his service to the worldwide photonics community in the form of the open-access Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology.

2011-12-20: Meet Dr. Paschotta at Photonics West in San Francisco or at ASSP in San Diego; Attend a Short Course

You may arrange a meeting with Dr. Paschotta at one of the following conferences:

• Photonics West in San Francisco, Jan. 21–26, 2012
• Advanced Solid-State Photonics (ASSP) in San Diego, Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, 2012

Dr. Paschotta will give four short courses, where you may learn a lot:

• Jan. 22, 2012: Laser Beam Quality (half day) at Photonics West
• Jan. 25, 2012: Resonator Design for Solid-State Lasers (full day) at Photonics West
• Jan. 26, 2012: Applied Nonlinear Frequency Conversion (full day) at Photonics West
• Jan. 29, 2012: Laser Noise (half day) at Advanced Solid-State Photonics (ASSP) in San Diego

Students: note that for a limited time there is an opportunity to obtain a $100 discount for a course at ASSP.

2011-12-12: New Version of RP Fiber Power Software with Ultrashort Pulse Propagation

Version 4.0 of the modeling software RP Fiber Power is now available for delivery. This version now also supports simulations on ultrashort pulse propagation in fiber amplifiers and passive fibers. For example, this can be used

• to check how pulses are nonlinearly stretched or distorted in a fiber amplifier, and how they might be compressed after an amplifier
• to simulate soliton effects in active and passive fibers
• to simulate the operation of regenerative amplifiers (even if built with bulk elements)

Although there are already other products for ultrashort pulse propagation (e.g., RP ProPulse), it is very convenient to have pulse propagation features integrated into the fiber amplifier and laser software RP Fiber Power. Its powerful script language makes it easy to do advanced simulations, not only simple single-pass calculations. For example, one can easily simulate repetitive amplification processes in a regenerative amplifier. Also, it is convenient to calculate chromatic dispersion profiles with the integrated mode solver and directly use these for calculating ultrashort pulse propagation. A number of example scripts demonstrates the great versatility of this software.

2011-05-27: Summer School in Tampere

On August 8–12, there will be the 6^th International Summer School "New Frontiers in Optical Technologies" at Tampere University of Technology in Finland. The programme contains lectures on hot topics like slow light, plasmonics, photovoltaics and semiconductor nanostructures, presented by a range of lecturers, among them famous professors. Dr. Paschotta will present a tutorial on nonlinear frequency conversion.

2011-04-28: RP Photonics Enters Partnership with DPM Photonics for Software Sales

RP Photonics has established a partnership with DPM Photonics, a U.S. company providing consulting and product representation services for the mid- to high-power laser and component market. DPM Photonics will provide sales support for the advanced modeling software developed by RP Photonics:

• RP Fiber Power for fiber mode calculations and the simulation of power evolution in fiber lasers, amplifiers and ASE sources
• RP Resonator for the design and optimization of bulk laser resonators
• RP ProPulse for the simulation of ultrashort pulse propagation in mode-locked lasers, parametric oscillators and fiber devices

Customers in the U.S. but also worldwide have the additional opportunity to order the software via DPM Photonics. Invoicing can also be done through DPM Photonics, or directly via RP Photonics, as is appropriate. Delivery and the technical support will always be done by RP Photonics, the developer and producer.

DPM Photonics's current offerings also include high power precision optics, equipment for fiber splicing, preparation and bundling, and fiber-coupled components. The company has been of service to major corporations, start-up ventures and universities. DPM Photonics is also a recognized vendor for both government agencies and government contractors.

2011-04-04: New Version of Modeling Software “RP Fiber Power”

The new version 3.0 of the modeling software RP Fiber Power is now available. The major new feature is the integrated mode solver, which can calculate the transverse amplitude profiles, cut-off wavelengths, propagation constants, group velocities, chromatic dispersion and more of all guided fiber modes based on a given refractive index profile. This now makes the software interesting also for users working on passive fibers. For example, it can be used for optimizing (even automatically) refractive index profiles such that certain dispersion properties are obtained.

Of course, the calculated mode profiles can easily be used for power calculations in fiber amplifiers and fiber lasers. For this purpose, the model has been extended such that it can also take into account the azimuthal dependencies.

The software is also an excellent educational tool. It is a pleasure to perform “numerical experiments” on fiber designs, fiber amplifiers or fiber lasers, and this is a very effective wave of learning a lot about such devices. This leads to a substantially deeper understanding than obtained by only reading textbooks.

Check the comprehensive software description pages to get more details.

2011-02-14: Meet Dr. Paschotta at the Laser Exhibition in Munich; Attend a Short Course

From May 23 to 26, 2011, there will be the Laser Exhibition (World of Photonics) in Munich. RP Photonics will be represented at the booth of PMS Optik (booth 215 in hall B2).

Dr. Paschotta will also give a short course on Fibre Amplifiers – a good opportunity to learn something on that hot topic and to get an impression of how you could benefit from RP Photonics in other ways.

2011-02-03: The RP Photonics Website Got a New Look

Whereas the content of the RP Photonics website has been very comprehensive for many years, it was now time for a fresh look. We hope that you will enjoy the new design. In the near future, we will also improve the design of the Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology.

2011-01-07: Meet Dr. Paschotta at Photonics West; Attend Short Courses

Dr. Paschotta will attend Photonics West in San Francisco (Jan. 23 - 28), which would be a good opportunity for new customers to meet him.

At Photonics West, Dr. Paschotta will present the following short courses:

• Monday, January 24: Short course SC931 on Applied Nonlinear Frequency Conversion
• Tuesday, January 25: Short course SC818 on Laser Beam Quality
• Wednesday, January 26: Short course SC860 on Resonator Design for Solid State Lasers

If you attend Photonics West, use the opportunity to learn a lot in such a course and at the same time to get an impression of how your business or research could profit from the cooperation with RP Photonics!

2010-12-05: RP Photonics has moved to Germany!

The details are explained on a separate page.

2010-08-18: Licenses for RP ProPulse 2.0 Software Available

Previously, the software RP ProPulse was only for internal use at RP Photonics. Now, user licenses for the improved version 2.0 are available.

This software greatly surpasses the capabilities of common programs for pulse propagation modeling. Not only does it offer to model a large variety of different effects, but also it offers uttermost flexibility due to its powerful script language. Therefore, the program is an invaluable tool for both scientific research and industrial development in the area of ultrafast lasers, OPOs and fiber devices.

Of course, it remains possible to let RP Photonics do design work with this software.

2010-01-06: SPIE Field Guide to Optical Fiber Technology

Dr. Paschotta has already authored the third book in the SPIE Field Guide series. It is the Field Guide to Optical Fiber Technology. The book covers not only the basics of fiber optics, but also presents a lot of material on fiber nonlinearities, photonic crystal fibers, various fiber-optic components such as fiber Bragg gratings. Also, it discusses fiber lasers and amplifiers.

Also have a look at the other two Field Guides to Lasers and Laser Pulse Generation.

The concept of these Field Guides is quite popular, as they present a quick and inexpensive way to get familiar with the essentials of some technical area.

2010-01-04: Licenses for RP Resonator 2.0 Software Available

Previously, the advanced resonator design software RP Resonator was only for internal use at RP Photonics. Now, user licenses for the improved version 2.0 are available.

This software greatly surpasses the capabilities of common programs for resonator design. For example, one can use it to study and minimize the alignment sensitivity, calculate chromatic dispersion effects resulting from wavelength-dependent refraction and higher-order mode frequencies. Therefore, the program is an invaluable tool for solid-state laser development.

Of course, it remains possible to let RP Photonics do design work with this software.