2012 CONFERENCE AGENDA
Speakers and topics subject to change without notice
W Hotel
181 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA
7:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Great Room 1&2 Prefunction Area
3rd Floor
Please stop by the registration table for your attendee badge prior to 8:00.
The Seminar will be held in the Great Room 1&2
3rd Floor
8:00 am
Welcome and Introduction
Conard Holton
Editor-in-Chief / Associate Publisher
Laser Focus World
Laser Marketplace
Dr. Tom Hausken
Director of Optoelectronic Components
Strategies Unlimited
The global market review and forecast provides an overview of current worldwide lasers and photonics markets, from the laser technologies to the applications driving revenue growth. The discussion includes estimates of current and global sales revenues by application, as well as the trends in those segments—at the macroeconomic level as well as the system and laser product levels.
8:50 am
World Markets for Industrial Lasers and Applications
David Belforte
Editor-in-Chief
Industrial Laser Solutions
After a 30% drop in sales in 2009, the global industrial laser market stunned the experts with a 31% increase in 2010 sales. Led by double digit growth in the key market sectors; fabricated metal products (21%), semiconductor/microprocessing (52%) and marking/engraving (80%), laser sales will exceed the benchmark year of 2008, fully one year ahead of projections. Details on these markets and a review of the market sectors will be presented and a roadmap for sustaining the recovery in a wobbly economy will be outlined.
9:30 am REFRESHMENT BREAK
Prefunction Area Outside Great Room 1&2
10:10 am
Hot Markets: Photonics and Nonindustrial Robots
Conard Holton
Editor-in-Chief / Associate Publisher
Laser Focus World
Nonindustrial robots—also known as service robots—perform tasks that range from surveillance and offensive operations from drones, to bomb disposal, farming, and warehouse logistics, and also include teaching children and assisting the elderly. They use photonics technologies such as stereo cameras, structured-light sources, LEDs, optical assemblies, and infrared sensors. Many countries are avidly fostering research and development in this field. They are doing so because, while industrial robots are sold in the tens of thousands of units per year, service robots will offer a volume of unit sales in the millions. A recent report from Vision Systems Design estimates the near-term global market for such photonics systems at approximately $3.5 billion.
10:40 am
Hot Markets: Lasers, Optics, & Computational Imaging
Prof. Ramesh Raskar
MIT Media Lab
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A computational camera digitally captures the essence of visual information by exploiting a combination of optics, illumination, sensors, and processing. Varying combinations of, for example, femtosecond lasers, optics, thermal cameras, multi-spectral cameras, 3D range-sensing cameras, and sensor arrays yield new opportunities in scientific and medical imaging, mobile-phone-based photography, and human-computer interaction. Using new techniques, Raskar’s group is answering such questions as: Can we photograph objects that are not in the direct line of sight? Can we automatically identify materials (eg, wood, metal, or skin) using a single photo? Can we build portable CAT-scanning machines with no moving parts? Can we convert LCDs into large lensless cameras? Can we exploit high resolution displays to create unusual scientific and medical instruments? The answers are “yes”.
11:25 am
Photonics Industry Consolidation: Continuing Change
Dr. Mark Douglass
Sr. Equity Analyst - Industrial Technology
Longbow Research
Companies are flush with cash and interest rates are low, suggesting that mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity will be brisk during the next cycle, particularly for the photonics industry. The presentation will discuss the rationale for recent and future M&A and industry consolidation, as well as provide a brief update on the overall economic outlook.
12:00 pm NETWORKING LUNCH
Work Room 1-3
3rd floor
1:30 pm
KEYNOTE: Keep on Growing
Dr. Milton Chang
Founder / Managing Director
Incubic Management
Starting a photonics business is challenging; even more demanding is to keep on growing and sustaining the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Milton Chang will describe how to employ the principles and practices in his book Toward Entrepreneurship (www.miltonchang.com) in a cohesive strategy to cultivate the creative and entrepreneurial spirit in an established business. This strategy means having a near-perfect paradigm of people in R&D, manufacturing, operations, administration, marketing, and sales working in harmony as a team to serve the needs of customers. He will draw on his experience in founding, running, investing in, and advising startup high-tech companies.
2:15 pm
Celebrating 50 Years of Laser Diodes
Dr. David Welch
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer
Infinera
Lasing in semiconductor diodes was first observed in 1962, only two years after the first demonstration of a laser. Diode lasers appeared in telecom networks in the 1970s, in compact disc players in the 1980s, and high-power diodes emerged in the 1990s for optical pumping, medicine, and materials processing. At 50 years, the diode laser market is over $3 billion, and new technology and applications are still appearing. Dr. Welch will talk about the evolution of the diode laser business, and many exciting opportunities ahead.
2:55 pm REFRESHMENT BREAK
Prefunction Area Outside Great Room 1&2
3rd floor
3:25 pm
TECHNOLOGY FORUM
Leading Edge Light Sources: Terahertz, Ultrafast, Fiber Lasers
Introduced and moderated by
Dr. Tom Hausken
Director of Optoelectronic Components
Strategies Unlimited
New applications and markets are continually announced for some of the most recently developed light sources: terahertz, ultrafast, and fiber laser technologies. This Technology Forum will examine each area of technology and related products, and seek to answer questions such as: What has made the difference in successful adoption? What is holding back adoption? Is IP an issue? What about regulations and other factors such as government mandates and standards? And what are the key component technologies involved in each and how will these develop in the next few years?
Forum Panelists 
3:35 pm
Terahertz Technology for 3D Imaging and Spectroscopy
Dr. Philip Taday, Principal Scientist/Head of Applications Group
Teraview Ltd
Terahertz technology can provide a range of applications for drug discovery and formulation, medical and dental diagnostics, security screening, and explosives and contraband detection. The list has recently been expanding to include applications in the food, agriculture, cosmetics, paints and coatings, and semiconductor markets. And yet barriers remain to its widespread adoption. What will it take to really emerge?
3:50 pm
Fiber Lasers
Martin Seifert, President
Nufern
Fiber lasers have been scaled to very high average powers and the low-average-power, short-pulse regimes. Several companies have now taken advantage of fiber lasers to develop a variety of products. What new market opportunities are opening up for fiber lasers in industrial, environmental, medical, and military applications? Do they face significant barriers to entry? Is it too late for new entrants, especially those without vertical integration?
4:05 pm
Ultrafast Lasers
Prof. Heinz P. Huber
Munich University of Applied Sciences
Consultant for High Q Laser / Spectra-Physics, A Newport Corporation Brand
Highly reliable, ultrafast lasers and amplifiers are now available to support numerous applications and markets. These include picosecond and femtosecond laser machining of metal, glass, ceramics, and semiconductors; multi-photon and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; ophthalmology, surgery, and dissection; thin-film metrology and mask repair; and tasks such as satellite laser ranging, THz generation, and spectroscopy. How quickly will ultrafast lasers grow in these markets and what other opportunities are becoming possible?
4:20 pm
Panel Discussion
5:00 pm ADJOURN
