{"id":4088,"date":"2023-07-29T09:42:48","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T09:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/en\/?post_type=article&p=4088"},"modified":"2023-11-30T05:44:47","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T05:44:47","slug":"innovation-at-the-speed-of-light","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/en\/article\/innovation-at-the-speed-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation at the Speed of Light"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A few years ago, the Innovation Authority decided to give the Israeli laser industry a significant boost. This decision lead to the establishment of the ALTIA Consortium<\/strong> (Advanced Laser Technologies for Industrial Applications) in 2016. Dr. Kobi Lasri<\/strong>, General Manager of V-Gen, was appointed as the consortium’s chairman. V-Gen, founded in 1998 and today a part of the MKS Instruments Inc. corporation, develops and manufactures fiber lasers for industrial and defense applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Lasri tells of the consortium’s establishment: “Lasers are considered a vital component in a variety of advanced industries that have become an integral part of our daily lives: computers, smartphones, smart electric vehicles, micro-electronics, medical devices and more. In a world in which these dynamic industries display profound technological improvements each year, the demands placed on laser systems are also rising incessantly. Laser systems manufacturers are faced with increasing challenges with regard to demand for precision, resolution, reliability, throughput, and cost structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Israeli industry is one of the world’s leaders in many fields with pioneering technologies in cyber, biotechnology, micro-electronics sectors and others”, Dr. Lasri describes, “more-over, there are world-leading Israeli research groups in the field of electro-optics. The Innovation Authority also identified the potential to turn the laser industry into a leader of the future generation. This support of infrastructures and technological innovation establishes a competitive edge for Israeli industry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the ALTIA Consortium was born as an R&D initiative for the next generation of advanced laser technologies. Six commercial companies joined together with leading research groups in the fields of laser physics and photonics components from the following research institutions: the Technion, Weizmann Institute, the Hebrew University, Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, and Tel Aviv University. Other partners in the consortium include the Lev Academic Center and the Israel Center for Advanced Photonics at Soreq. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The industrial partners in this consortium are three leading laser companies \u2013 V-Gen, Civan, and Elop \u2013 and three companies from the field of components \u2013 Raicol, that manufactures optical crystals, Holo-Or, that manufactures advanced Diffractive Optical Elements (DOEs), and Orbotech, that manufactures systems and solutions for manufacture processes in the electronics industry and is the end user of the lasers developed by the consortium. Activity in the consortium is based on the fact that each participant contributes his share of expertise and experience \u2013 all working together in full cooperation. The consortium meets on a quarterly basis and each research group conducts independent meetings as needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Lasri: “The cooperation between\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\n the companies and research<\/span>\n
\n close <\/span>\n
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Altia Consortium Participants<\/h3>\n
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Orbotech Ltd. \nV-Gen Ltd., Spectra-Physics MKS Instruments Inc. \nElbit Systems Electro-optics – Elop Ltd. \nHolo\/Or Ltd. \nRaicol Crystals Ltd. \nCivan Advanced Technologies Ltd. \nProf. Amial Yeshaya \u2013 Ben-Gurion University \nProf. Ady Arie \u2013 Tel Aviv University \nProf. Gadi Eisenstein, Prof. Baruch Fischer, and Prof. Moshe Horowitz \u2013 Technion \nDr. Doron Naveh, Dr. Yossi Abulafia, Dr. Moti Fridman, Prof. Avi Zadok, Prof. Avi Pe’er \u2013 Bar-Ilan University \nProf. Michael Manevich \u2013 Lev Academic Center \nProf. Nir Davidson and Prof. Asher Friesem \u2013 Weizmann Institute of Science \nProf. Dan Marom \u2013 Hebrew University \nThe Israel Center for Advanced Photonics<\/p>\n