Precision in Photonics.
Together we shape light.

MeNlo sYsTeMs
TogeTher we shape lighT

Have you ever asked yourself what the best way is to see
innovations not to stop at the exit doors of research labs
but succeed in real world applications? We were confronted with this challenge more than 15 years ago.
our answer has been MeNlo sYsTeMs. since then, we have formed a globally recognized company that provides innovative products for optical precision measurements.
as part of the photonics community, together we have created new productsthat enable ever-improving precision and accuracy – and we are convincedthat photonics has more to offer to meet the challenges of today’s world. wewill do our best to be part of the future of photonics.

2Dr. Ronald Holzwarth,
CTO

Dr. Michael Mei,
CEO3

MeNlo sYsTeMs
preCisioN iN phoToNiCs„To accelerate the advancement of optical technology for
precision measurements and their applications from thetable tops of research laboratories to standard use in communication and high technology industries“ – our mission
defined at the outset remained unchanged and as vivid as
ever.
Challenged by the diversity and individuality of the products that we supply
to the most demanding applications in photonics we have made continuous
improvement and lean manufacturing to cornerstones of our philosophy of
how we design, engineer, and manufacture products.
we have formed a team at MeNlo sYsTeMs that is highly dedicated toserve the photonics community. Many of us had the privilege to work insome of the best laboratories around the globe before they have joined ourcompany. it is rewarding to see that our customer’s trust and support hasled to a continuous and organic growth of our product portfolio, our team,and the whole company. we will continue a trusting collaboration with ourcustomers, delivering products Made in germany that meet the needs
with the expected quality and performance.

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opTiCal FreQUeNCY CoMBs
MaKe lighT MeasUraBle

AstroCombs can serve as routine calibrator for
high-resolution astronomical instrumentation, such as theExoplanet Hunter HARPS, the High Accuracy Radial
velocity Planet Searcher at the ESO La Silla 3.6m telescope.

Photo: ESO/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org)

Optical frequency combs measure absolute optical frequencies directly and with utmost accuracy. As one canderive time and length from frequency measurements, thismost precise tool vastly simplified metrology and until today enables new directions in physics. MENLO SYSTEMS
is honored to be recognized as the market leader andnumber one supplier of optical frequency combs.
MeNlo sYsTeMs continues to shape the market by dedicating its expertiseand knowledge to continuous product innovations. Technical milestones include the ﬁrst commercial system and the introduction of ﬁber-based laser
technology for user-friendly instrumentation. our goal is to provide the bestsolution for each application. we open up new spectral ranges. The systemwith ultra-low phase-noise performance keeps pace with the new clock
designs that aim at the new deﬁnition of second. a very compact one-rackunit targets usage outside dedicated lab environments. our astroCombs
autonomously operate at robotic telescopes of distant observatories.

time

frequency

MENLO SYSTEMS’ femtosecond-laser-based frequency comb gives precise control of both starting position andspacing between the frequency modes, generating hundreds of thousands of well-defined reference lines.

APPLICATIONS: HIGH-RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY, OPTICAL CLOCKS, LOWNOISE MICROWAVE SYNTHESIS, CALIBRATION OF ASTRONOMICAL SPECTROGRAPHS, DIMENSIONAL METROLOGY, FREQUENCY DISSEMINATION, TIMING
DISTRIBUTION
7DisCoVer TheworlD oF TeraherTZ

Originating from our experience in manufacturing high-performance femtosecond fiber lasers and stabilization electronics,MENLO SYSTEMS has been an expert for terahertz technology
since 2007. We supply complete and easy-to-use solutions forterahertz time-domain spectroscopy and imaging applications.
our systems address the various needs ranging from demanding scientiﬁc laboratory experiments to the harsh conditions at industrial production sites. our terahertz
technology beneﬁts from strong collaborations with research institutes, ensuring
the high quality standard of our components. we integrate our own femtosecond
lasers, and provide products speciﬁcally tailored to the demands of our oeMs andsystem integrators. applications aiming at novel standards for safety and quality
control drive the development of our terahertz systems.

8Mapping the formation of paper products with terahertz:
backlight (left) and terahertz image (right) of a watermark

APPLICATIONS: TIME-RESOLVED TERAHERTZ SPECTROSCOPY, QUALITY INSPECTION AND PROCESSCONTROL, TERAHERTZ IMAGING, NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING, CHEMICAL FINGERPRINTING, QUALITY CONTROL IN PLASTICS AND PAPER INDUSTRY

9FeMToseCoND lasers
For researCh aND iNDUsTrY

MENLO SYSTEMS’ laser product portfolio spansfrom complex stabilized multibranch laser systems tocompact ready-to-integrate OEM modules, which areindeed as easy to snap into place in a machine as installing a light bulb.
we have built up a dedicated team of product and application specialists. our engineers truly understand capabilities of our systems,
have an extensive knowledge of relevant applications, and make all
efforts needed to deﬁne the most suitable solution together with ourcustomers. our novel ultrastable ﬁgure 9® laser technology is implemented in all femtosecond ﬁber lasers. with the ﬁgure 9® all-pM ﬁber
design Menlo’s laser systems offer highest stability and lowest-noise
operation, engineered for 24/7 operation with highest reliability andreproducibility.

APPLICATIONS: TIME-RESOLVED STUDIES, MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY, 2-PHOTON POLYMERIZATION
3D PRINTING, MICROMACHINING, TERAHERTZ GENERATION, AMPLIFIER SEEDING

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spiN-oFF
proDUCTs
TaKiNg
The leaD

Quality components assure reliability and performance. This concept is central to our product development philosophy: In-house technology gives better
control over quality.
This understanding triggered us to develop and continuously improve our own technology for detection and synchronization. products originally designed to serve in our optical frequency combs
became bestsellers as stand-alone devices for a wide range ofapplications. at the same time, fully integrated solutions of similar complexity as our metrology systems emerged for new applications. our timing distribution and synchronization system is a great
example how low-noise pulsed lasers, stabilized optical ﬁber links
and high-resolution detectors can merge together to provide clocksignal with state-of-the-art sub-10 fs precision for large scale
facilities.

APPLICATIONS: SYNCHRONIZATION AND TIMING,ASYNCHRONOUS OPTICAL SAMPLING, CEP STABILIZATION FOR HIGH HARMONIC GENERATIONAND COHERENT CONTROL, DETECTION OF WEAK
LIGHT SIGNAL, PUMP-PROBE SPECTROSCOPY

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oUr proMise
To CUsToMers

With SmartComb, precision measurements became possible outside theoptics labs. The single enclosure instrument has fully automated operation. This new tool combines the simplicity of an easy-to-use wavelength
meter with ultimate precision of 10-14 and beyond.

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We respect time. Nothing can bring back time wasted. Continuous development of our employees and improvementof our processes are the basis of efficiency in our organization. With quality in design, engineering, and production,
MENLO SYSTEMS can offer solutions with excellent performance and long lifetime. Reliability and high uptime saves
your time.
all of our products are built in a controlled environment and must pass rigorous ﬁnal tests both at component and system level before leaving our factory.
we select the best suppliers for high quality components; all products havefully traceable components. our manufacturing is organized according to leanmanufacturing standards. processes are documented and operators undergo
continuous training to ensure repeatability and reliability in the operation. andindeed, with the optical frequency combs we do manufacture the most precise
optical measuring tools; so we make use of our in-house reference systems toqualify and calibrate our products against the best standards available.

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we are ThereFor YoU

14

Participants of the in-house optical frequency comb
seminar: the annual event attracts current users of thesystems, interested scientists and students who would
like to learn more about the technology. The four-day
workshop focuses on the technology and measurement
techniques, offering in-depth lectures, along with technicaldiscussions and hands-on training in small groups.

MENLO SYSTEMS goes beyond being a supplier. We remain a partner through the lifetime of the products. People of many different cultures and nationalities work in
our regional offices and at the headquarters in Munich,understanding technical requirements as well as localconditions.
our service program beneﬁts from the knowledge we have built up over
the years. a skilled and resourced team of ﬁeld-service engineers provides excellent on-site installation and user training. we make our expertiseavailable to our customers when it comes to adapting existing systems tochanging user requirements or provide extended on-site service and support during measurement campaigns.

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ToDaY’s iDeas For
ToMorrow’s proDUCTs

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Overlapping Allan deviation, σy (τ)

10-16

10-17

10-18

10-19

100

101

102

103

104

Averaging time, τ (s)Unrivalled stability better than 3·10-18 in 1000 seconds – performancedata of the ultra-low phase-noise optical frequency comb system:
two FC1500-250-UlN systems have been referenced to a common stateof-the-art ors1500 1-hz laser at 1542 nm. stability has been measured
out-of-loop via beat note between respective comb lines at 1064 nm.
stability is calculated from raw data – no assumption regarding equivalenceof the two combs, no division by factor of √2.

MENLO SYSTEMS maintains strong bonds to its origins. We are
grateful for the opportunities to work in projects with partners within
Germany, the EU, and worldwide. Within each individual project, wetry to focus on the solution for a specific task. Very often, this requires
profound R&D work. Our partners give us inspiration and support.
we were part of the FoKUs projects, a prototype experiment of clock comparison for possible satellite based tests of fundamental physics: in future experiments, a space grade
optical frequency comb will enable precision clock comparisons between state of the art
space optical clocks. such a space-based clock comparison with unprecedented sensitivity is testing einstein’s general theory of relativity, and in particular the local position
invariance. eventually such experiments might lead to new theories of gravity and willcompletely change our understanding of the world. within the FoKUs projects, we developed an optical frequency comb for sounding rocket ﬂights and signiﬁcantly increased
the technological maturity for space application. Newly gained knowledge ﬁnds immediate
implementation in current and future products.

Prof. Dr. Theodor W. Hänsch
Founder and scientiﬁc advisor, Theodor
w. hänsch is professor of physics at
the ludwig-Maximilans University ofMunich and director of the Max planckinstitute of Quantum optics. as one ofthe pioneers of laser physics, he has
shaped its evolution in an unprecedented way. he is recognized as oneof the leading scientists in his ﬁeld. hereceived the Nobel prize in physics in2005. one of his outstanding developments has been the optical frequency
comb technology. his dream to makethis fascinating technology commercially available led to the foundation ofMeNlo sYsTeMs in 2001.

photo: Volker steger

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FaCTs aND FigUres

Founded: 2001
Founding partners: prof. Dr. Theodor w. hänsch,Dr. ronald holzwarth, Dr. Michael Mei and alex Cable
Established as spin-off of the Max planck instituteof Quantum optics, garching, germany

Legal entity: gmbh, privately owned
Headquarters: Martinsried/Munich, germany
offices in Newton, NJ in the Us,
and in shanghai, China,
in partnership with Thorlabs inc.

Management: Dr. ronald holzwarth andDr. Michael Mei
Employees worldwide: >100, over one third having
a phD in physics or engineering

TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHTSREVENUE GROWTH

AstroComb
Optical frequency comb-based calibration system
First Product FC8003
World’s first commercial optical frequency comb
CEP Stabilitation
World’s firsts product for few cycle lasers

Femtosecond Fiber Lasers
First femtosecond fiber laser
made in Germany
2001
Companyfoundation

TERA K8, TERA K15First terahertz time-domain
spectrometer made in Germany

FC1500World’s first opticalfrequency comb basedon fiber laser

MARKETSCUSTOMERS

Quality inspection
Terahertz physics

Biophotonics
Multiphoton
microscopy

Metrology
Time and distance measurements
Time and frequency distribution,synchronization
Spectroscopy
Optical frequency comb
spectroscopy
Fourier transform spectroscopy,
chemical analysisLasers for micro
material processing
3D printing

Universities

Researchinstitutes

Radio frequency
generation

Industry

OEM manufacturers

National laboratories

Test and measurement

ELMO, ELMO 780
New platform for femtosecond fiber lasers for OEM customers

ORS 1500
Ultra narrow linewidth laser
with <1 Hz for highest precision

TDS
Joint project withMIT for timing
distribution solution

BlueCut
Femtosecond fiber laser withmicrojoule pulse energy for material
processing and medical applications
figure 9® Technology
Release of newseries of lasers
based on proprietary mode locking
technology

SmartComb, FC1500-250-ULN
New optical frequency comb
models with most compact design
and most stable operation

Menlo Systems GmbH
Bunsenstraße 5D-82152 Martinsried
germany
T+49 89 189 166 0F+49 89 189 166 111
sales@menlosystems.com

www.menlosystems.com

Menlo Systems, Inc.
56 sparta avenue
Newton, NJ07860
Usa
T+1 973 300 4490
F+1 973 300 3600
ussales@menlosystems.com

Thorlabs, Inc.
56 Sparta Avenue
Newton, NJ 07860
USA
T+1 973 579 7227
F+1 973 300 3600
sales@thorlabs.com