Lasers and laser systems for manufacturing, green photonics as well as biophotonics and life sciences are the key topics at this year's upcoming Laser World of Photonics trade fair, which will be held 23-26 May in Munich, Germany. Optical technologies will also be a focus at the trade fair and the accompanying World of Photonics Congress.
In 2009 the biannual event attracted 1,034 exhibitors and 25,365 visitors. The number of exhibitors and visitors from outside Germany has risen over the history of the trade fair and now stands at 57 per cent for exhibitors and 51 per cent for visitors.
Industries covered range from automobile construction, mechanical engineering, tool-making, job order production and the aerospace industry through to photovoltaics, electronics and micro-production.
The topics in green photonics will include energy and the environment, photovoltaics, lighting, energy efficiency and climate protection. Exhibitors will show here how optical technologies make a substantial contribution towards efficient production and energy conservation, where they are used for renewable energies and how they can optimise measuring and test technology.
During the trade fair research institutes and companies will present the new applications, methods and processes in biophotonics. The Biophotonics Forum and the European Conferences on Biomedical Optics (ECBO) will also show current achievements and future possibilities.
Applications in the area of security and defence will be examined for the first time at the trade fair as a separate topic. Exhibitors here will present laser applications from aerospace, such as displays for civil aviation, stabilisation systems and defence systems.
In addition to the trade fair, six conferences are held under the umbrella of the World of Photonics Congress. The Congress programme will include a new event, the Optofluidics Conference, which is being organised by the European Optical Society (EOS). The Optical Metrology Conference includes an additional subconference on the topic of videometrics in its programme and the ECBO will look in 2011 at clinically oriented topics in addition to its traditional programme contents.
Claudia Sixl, project group leader for Laser World of Photonics at Messe München, commented: 'Due to the close connection between industry and research at an international level and the fact that Laser World of Photonics covers the entire spectrum of optical technologies from components and systems through to application areas, we offer unique advantages. These advantages have become indispensable in a tough competitive environment with which our customers are now faced. This fact is also recognised by all the leading names in the industry through their attendance at Laser World of Photonics.'
