Thorlabs announced that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire the Fiber Optic Portfolio of Norland Products Inc. and has made the GL16 All-in-One Interferometer and CC6000 Portable Interferometer available for purchase through its website.
Headquartered in Cranbury, New Jersey, Norland is a global leader in the development of high-performance UV curing adhesives and interferometric test equipment for the fiber optic industry as well as a distributor of a high-purity fish gelatin and fish collagen used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
The Norland products will be incorporated into Thorlabs’ existing Vytran business unit, a 20,000 square foot facility located in Morganville, New Jersey. The Vytran team designs and manufactures an array of products geared towards high-volume optical fiber processing and assembly, including high-precision fusion splicers, cleavers, recoaters, and proof testers. Their technologies are utilized in a broad range of precision applications ranging from telecommunications and medical components to fiber lasers and sensing systems.
“We are excited to add the Norland fiber products to our portfolio,” said Alex Cable, President and Founder of Thorlabs. “The product offering is a natural extension to our Vytran fiber processing competencies, allowing us to provide more sophisticated and automated solutions to address the various inspection needs that arise on the factory floor.”
“The integration of Norland Products’ Fiber Optic product line into Thorlabs’ portfolio is a perfect fit,” said Tim Norland, President of Norland Products Inc. “I’m sure Thorlabs will continue to advance and improve the technology behind Norland’s Fiber Optic Test Equipment so that they can meet their customer’s needs now and in the future.”
Thorlabs has also announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for exclusive rights to a new bessel beam-based, multiphoton volume imaging technique, developed at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus in the lab of Dr. Na Ji. Bessel beams are non-diffractive and self-healing, which allows them to maintain a tight focus and even reform as they pass through tissue. This ultra-fast technique provides video-rate volumetric functional imaging of neuronal pathways and interactions in vivo. If interested, please see the attached PR about this addition to Thorlabs’ line of innovative imaging systems and features.
