META INSTALLS WORLD’S FIRST C-WAVE GTR TUNABLE LASER FROM HÜBNER PHOTONICS

Full Coverage of Visible Spectrum Accelerates Holographic Development Capabilities

HALIFAX, NS, Dec. 22, 2020 /CNW/ – Metamaterial Inc. (“Company” or “META”) (CSE: MMAT) a developer of high-performance functional materials and nanocomposites, today announced it has installed the world’s first C-WAVE GTR/NIR (green-to-red/near-infrared) tunable laser from HÜBNER Photonics. Laser light sources are core to holography, and the new system covers a significant gap in the green region, which would be costly and complex to address with alternative narrow bandwidth lasers. Together with two other tunable sources, META now has the ability to record holograms at any desired wavelength across the entire visible spectrum, which will accelerate holographic product development. This new, full-spectrum capability will be a crucial enabler for crafting full-color RGB holograms for optical combiners in augmented reality and head up display applications.

“We are delighted to work with an innovative partner like META to advance the state of the art in tunable lasers for holography. Development of the C-WAVE GTR/NIR was a two-year project, during which we gained insights and received valuable feedback from the META team,” said Ingolf Cedra, General Manager HÜBNER Group.

Ever since Dennis Gabor invented holography in 1947, which later earned him a Nobel Prize for his efforts, the technological field of holography has been evolving. META has invented meter-scale and roll-to-roll capable proprietary holographic direct-write tools and products working closely with its strategic suppliers to achieve better outcomes for its customers. “HÜBNER Photonics answered one of our major challenges, to invent a new light source that would be tunable from red to green. Thanks to their ingenuity and our feedback, HÜBNER Photonics developed and delivered a first-of-a-kind tunable laser system, the C-WAVE GTR/NIR. We could not be happier with HÜBNER Photonics’ support, which enabled us to quickly install and commission the GTR 100% remotely, overcoming the travel restrictions related to COVID-19,” said George Palikaras, President and CEO at META.

C-WAVE GTR

A broad colour palette from three tunable HÜBNER Photonics sources. The blue and red light in the foreground comes from two C-WAVES. META’s new GTR in the background supplies tunable green light in a wavelength range that was previously inaccessible. (Metamaterial Inc.)

Precise control of the recording wavelength is critical in holographic product development. Designers must compensate for wavelength shifts that result from material shrinkage and effects of post processing, which cause the replay wavelength to differ from the wavelength used for recording. The new laser is fully tunable across the visible GTR region (500 to 750 nm), as well as NIR (1000 to 1500 nm).

“The green region is a particularly important range of wavelengths for our customers, and up to now we have lacked wavelength flexibility within that band. With the C-WAVE GTR/NIR, META is now able to record RGB (red, green, blue) holograms at any combination of wavelengths our customers may require. We expect this capability to help us attract and more rapidly complete new holographic development projects,” said Dr. Andrew Mark, Manager of Optical Engineering and Metamaterial Design at META.

About Metamaterial Inc.

META is changing the way we use, interact with, and benefit from light and other forms of energy. META designs and manufactures advanced materials and performance functional films which are engineered at the nanoscale to control light and other forms of energy. META is an award winning Global Cleantech 100 company with products that support sustainability by doing more with less; they encompass lightweight, sustainable raw materials and processes which consume less energy and offer more performance. META has a growing patent portfolio and is currently developing new materials with diverse applications in concert with companies in the automotive, aerospace, energy, consumer electronics and medical industries. META is headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia and has R&D and Sales offices in London, UK and Silicon Valley. For additional information on META, please visit www.metamaterial.com

About HÜBNER Photonics

HÜBNER Photonics is committed to supplying high performance and innovative lasers that meet or exceed the market’s expectations concerning quality, reliability and robustness. HÜBNER Photonics offers the full range of high performance Cobolt lasers, the CW tunable laser C-WAVE along and a full selection of C-FLEX laser combiners. Through continuous technology development, customer orientation and an ISO certified quality management system, HÜBNER Photonics has become a preferred supplier of lasers to major instrument manufacturers and leading research labs for cutting-edge applications in the areas of fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, Raman spectroscopy, metrology, holography, nanophotonics and quantum research. HÜBNER Photonics has manufacturing sites in Kassel, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden with direct sales and service offices in USA and UK.

Contact: Dr Elizabeth Illy
Dir. of Marketing

Phone:   +46 8 545 912 30

Fax:      +46 8 545 912 31

E-mail:  sales@hubner-photonics.com

Website: www.hubner-photonics.com