Munich. It is difficult to imagine any aspect of our private or business lives without photonics applications. When it comes to meeting the challenges of the 21st century, optical technologies combined with electronics is a key crossover technology. The international trade fair LASER World of PHOTONICS 2013 will showcase the entire range of the latest applications in four halls at the Messe München trade-fair center from May 13 – 16, 2013. The trade fair is celebrating its 40-year anniversary in the year 2013. The fair takes place at the same time as the scientifically oriented World of Photonics Congress, Europe’s largest photonics congress, which will be held at the trade-fair center from May 12 – 16.
Today’s international trade fair LASER World of PHOTONICS got its start in 1973 as the world’s first trade fair for laser technologies. It has consistently strengthened its character as a leading event for forty years and expanded its spectrum to include optical technologies and the entire range of photonics at an early stage. The presence of leading international manufacturers, scientific excellence and user industries make it the world’s leading marketplace for laser and photonics technology.
The last time that the fair was held in 2011, there were 1,075 exhibitors and 27,490 visitors. It has a great deal of international appeal: Visitors came from 80 countries, and exhibitors were from 38 countries around the world.
Focal points and trends in 2013
The fair focuses on lasers and laser systems for manufacturing, lighting and energy as well as biophotonics and medical technology. Solutions for meeting the challenges that face modern society in the sectors for energy and health care and the ability to compete in production also play a special role. Examples of exhibits in these sectors include laser applications for electromobility, power engineering and automobile manufacturing, printed and organic electronics, modern solid-state light sources (LEDs, OLEDs), additive manufacturing in production, lasers for analysis and imaging in biophotonics, and laser applications and optical diagnostics in medicine.
Dr. Eckhard Heybrock, Senior Consultant at the VDI Technology Center, explains: “3D laser printing, for example, has the potential to revolutionize several aspects of production.” Also known as laser sintering, this technique is used to create three-dimensional products out of plastic or metal powders one layer at a time. A thin powder layer is applied in keeping with the product’s contours and melted onto the layer below it by laser. This technique can be used to create nearly any imaginable shape, layer by layer.
Ultra-short-pulse lasers, which are taking things to a new dimension, particularly in the manufacture of the most delicate cuts and structures, are also opening up new possibilities. Compared to short-pulse lasers, the new generation makes it possible to dose the energy that is introduced with much greater precision. Axel Bauer from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, explains: “The ultra-short-pulse laser sends out energy pulses, each of which is just several hundred femtoseconds – or less than a billionth of a second – long. This technology also makes it possible to cut materials that a “normal” laser would burn or meld due to the heat that is applied.”
One photonics trend that everyone will profit from in everyday life is the ongoing development and propagation of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Their advantages are also impressive: “They are extremely flat and lightweight, and they can be bent and emit light from their entire surface, not just from a single point”, explains Dr. Eckhard Heybrock. Finally, they consume 80 percent less energy than the conventional light bulb. And because the color of the light that they emit is variable, they can also produce warm, pleasant light.
Integrated, intelligent photonics sensors are also giving rise to entirely new applications: High-integration, networked and intelligent sensors that largely evaluate and further process measuring signals themselves, are resulting in systems that are nearly autonomous. For example, they make 3D vision possible. A well-known example of this is Microsoft Kinect technology, which makes it possible to control video games using gestures. This approach could also be put to use in industrial applications, where augmented reality represents another possible use for 3D vision. For example, special glasses could be used to project additional information into the employees’ field of vision that could help them with manufacturing and control tasks.
Leading gathering for the photonics community
Dr. Wilhelm Kaenders, Chairman of the Technical Advisory Board for LASER World of PHOTONICS and CEO of Toptica Photonics AG, underscores the importance of this industry: “Photonics has justifiably – and in the mean time even politically – been identified as one of the key technologies for the current century. On all continents, optical tools contribute considerably to helping us deal with the great challenges of our time. Photonics provides solutions in a wide variety of sectors such as power engineering, mobility, information and communication, safety technology and health care. As a leading international gathering for the photonics community, together with the World of Photonics Congress, LASER World of PHOTONICS provides important momentum for the ongoing global growth of this industry.”
Photonics industry in a sound growth environment
According to Kaenders, photonics is driving the development of advancements in science and fundamental research, which remain huge. Which is why it comes as little surprise that the photonics industry is experiencing solid growth, unlike the rest of the economy.
Photonics is a growing market around the world: The industry association Spectaris estimates that global market volume is approximately 300 billion euros. Annual growth is expected to be some ten percent. And according to studies, a good 20 percent of total global sales will be generated by the approximately 5,000 photonics companies in Europe.
The photonics sector in Germany is also growing. At the national level, industry sales in 2012 are expected to grow by some ten percent to a good 28 billion euros. 85 percent of the approximately 1,000 photonics companies in Germany that employ a good 140,000 people are small and medium-size enterprises.
World of Photonics Congress and Application Panels for users
The World of Photonics Congress, one of the leading photonics congresses in the world, bridges the gap between science and industry. According to Prof. Dr. Peter Loosen, Chairman of the Steering Committee for the World of Photonics Congress and Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, “Combined with the Application Panels in the exhibition forums, the World of Photonics Congress is one of the largest and most significant forums in the world for the scientific and technical exchange in the field of photonics. Participants present and discuss topics that pertain to fundamental physics and approaches to implementation in engineering science, which ultimately can be seen at the fair in the form of realized products and techniques.”
The Application Panels that take place in the exhibition halls at the same time as the congress will feature current and future applications of organic and printed electronics such as flexible solar cells or displays, printed batteries as well as touch displays and surfaces. Other focal points include the latest applications in analysis and medicine, lighting and security technology. Laser manufacturing techniques for the micro-engineering, electromobility and photonics sectors will also be presented.
About LASER World of PHOTONICS
The LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fairs and their congresses are the most important marketplaces and think tanks for the worldwide laser and photonics industry and its users. They combine research and applications and promote the utilization and further development of optical technologies.
Messe München International has held LASER World of PHOTONICS every two years since 1973. The fair was the first event to focus on the sector for optical technologies in the world, and it celebrates its forty-year anniversary in May 2013.
The World of Photonics Congress, which is Europe’s largest photonics congress and is organized in cooperation with the world’s leading organizations in this field, is held at the same time as the fair. A spin-off event, LASER World of PHOTONICS China, is the leading regional trade show for optical technologies in China. It takes place in Shanghai every year in March. As of September 2012, there is a new event, i.e. LASER World of PHOTONICS India. It is a regional trade fair for optical technologies in India and takes place in Mumbai every year.
With a total of 1,550 exhibitors and more than 60,000 visitors in Munich and Shanghai, Messe Muenchen International is the world’s leading trade show organizer for lasers and photonics.
The websites at H
Uwww.world-of-photonics.netUH feature information on the photonics trade shows, industry information, product innovations, and application reports and are a virtual platform for optical technologies.
About the conference program at the World of Photonics Congress
The world’s leading scientific organizations in the field of photonics will organize conferences under the umbrella of the World of Photonics Congress from May 12 – 16, 2013:
< >“CLEO/Europe-EQEC”, organized by the European Physical Society (EPS), sponsored by the EPS Quantum Electronics and Optics Division, OSA, IEEE/LEOS“Optofluidics”, “Manufacturing of Optical Components” and “Advanced Optomechanical “Engineering, 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 the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)Optical Metrology, organized by SPIE Europe Uwww.photonics-congress.comUH.
Messe München International
Messe München International is one of the world´s leading trade show companies. In Munich alone it organizes around 40 trade shows for capital and consumer goods, and key high tech industries. Each year more than 30,000 exhibitors and around two million visitors take part in the events held at Messe München exhibition center, the ICM – International Congress Center München, and in the MOC Veranstaltungscenter München. The leading international trade fairs of Messe München International are all FKM-certified, i.e. exhibitor and visitor numbers and the figures for exhibition space are collected in line with agreed standards and independently audited on behalf of the FKM (Gesellschaft zur Freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen), a society for the voluntary monitoring of fair and exhibition statistics.
In addition, Messe München International organizes trade shows in Asia, Russia, the Middle East, South America and South Africa. With eleven affiliates abroad – in Europe and in Asia – and over 60 foreign representatives actively serving over 90 countries, Messe München International has a worldwide business network. The Group also takes a pioneering role as regards sustainability: It is the first trade-fair company to be awarded energy-efficiency certification from the technical inspection authorities TÜV SÜD.
Press contacts
Messe München GmbH
Claudia Huber
Press officer Project PR
Messegelände
81823 Munich
Source:
Messe München; IFAT
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