Tampere, May 4th, 2006 – Modulight Inc. announces that it has received a 364,000 USD contract from European Space Agency (ESA) to develop lasers eventually targeted for the subsequent onboard atomic clock upgrades for a second generation system of the European satellite navigation mission Galileo. The lasers will be developed for realizing compact laser pumped Cs-beam atomic clocks, which are expected to be key elements in the upgraded navigation system technology. When the first generation Galileo system is fully deployed after 2010, it will consist of 30 satellites in medium earth orbit MEO. Atomic clocks are also widely used in commercial telecom and testing equipment where the developed new compact laser based atomic clocks will have a significant market potential.
“By improving the clock performance on board the satellite over the long-term, the need to correct the on-board clocks by more accurate ground clocks could be minimized. The technology to enable this is the laser pumped versions of the atomic clocks now in commercial use vis-à-vis Rubidium Atomic clocks and caesium beam clocks. The promise of atomic clock performance thus rests on the success of the laser development and its subsequent space qualification. Having vast experience of laser design and manufacturing, in addition to its recent work for ESA on SMOS, Modulight is in excellent position to complete this type development work”, says the technical officer from the European Space Agency.
“We are excited to launch this development as the hot field of positioning is quickly becoming part of our everyday life. Positioning applications from car navigation and collision avoidance systems to GPS devices used by hikers are becoming increasingly popular. This contract further supports Modulight’s role as leading European laser supplier for space domain from communication lasers to high power lasers and specific applications like this atomic clock laser. We have already proven our space capability by supplying communications lasers to ESA SMOS mission in 2004. This new contract along with others being negotiated will help us to fully exploit our capabilities in space applications, and also opens interesting new business opportunities in commercial markets”, says Dr. Petteri Uusimaa, President & CEO of Modulight.
About Modulight, Inc.
Modulight, Inc. provides value-added solutions to optical applications for industrial, communication, medical, space, and defense industries. Modulight products include various types of lasers from visible to infrared wavelengths with output power levels from milliwats to over hundreds of watts. Modulight provides also laser solutions from design and manufacturing of laser diodes to OEM-based optical sub-systems and turnkey laser systems. Modulight owns and operates a semiconductor fab in Tampere, Finland and has fully owned subsidiary Modulight USA located in San Jose, California.
Contact information
Modulight, Inc.
Anca Guina
Manager, Product Promotion
marketing@modulight.com
Tel: +358 20 743 9000
Fax: +358 20 743 9009