Time is of the essence for laser manufacturer new

INNOVATORS - DEBLAMA PHOTONICS:DUBLIN-BASED laser company Eblana Photonics has won a contract to supply the European Space Agency (ESA) with lasers that will be used in precise atomic clocks required by satellite systems.

The company has developed patented high-performance laser diode technology platform that is also used in telecommunications, medical devices and sensors.

Eblana won the contract to supply its laser diodes following a tender process. The ESA is currently developing its own next- generation system of satellite-based global positioning systems for which it will require more accurate atomic clocks.

"These satellite-borne clocks must be highly accurate and stable, since a deviation of even one nanosecond timing in these clocks produces a positional error on the ground of 30cm," says Eblana co-founder Dr James O'Gorman.

One of the reasons the company secured the ESA contract was because it is a commercial supplier of semiconductor lasers, rather than an purely research-based organisations. "They know our products will be around in 10 years time, and that is important given the long lead-in times for space projects," says O'Gorman.

Another factor was the extra spectral purity of the Eblana laser systems.

Eblana has grown since its formation eight years ago to become one of Europe's largest indigenous suppliers of semiconductor lasers for optical communications and a world leader in the supply of "monolithic narrow linewidth laser diodes" which are used in sensors and atomic clocks. The company employs 10 people, primarily in high- level research and development, and outsources much of its manufacturing.

Eblana bid for the ESA contract with support from Enterprise Ireland, which manages Ireland's membership of the agency.

The company was founded by O'Gorman - who was general manager of Optronics Ireland in Trinity College Dublin at the time - and John Hegarty, who is now the Provost of Trinity.

Eblana was largely born out of an advanced technology research programme that included TCD, Enterprise Ireland and the Tyndall National Institute, all three of which are shareholders in Eblana.

Noting that this collaborative research programme was formed up to 15 years ago, O'Gorman says this shows that "research requires a long-term approach. It is not short-term: you don't put money in today and get it back tomorrow."

"But in the early 1990s, the Optronics founders had foresight and we are seeing the benefits of that today." eblanaphotonics.com