Welcome to Munich!
Authors: Thoß Andreas 
Published: June 2007

No doubt the Laser. World of Photonics is the largest trade show for photonic technologies in the world. Optical components and laser technology for industrial applications have been the focal point since its foundation in 1973. Looking at the excellent economic situation in Germany (and it looks even better in the laser industry), one can expect new record numbers of exhibitors and visitors. Furthermore, the accompanying congress and the workshop program are even better and bigger than ever before. Please see our special conference recommendations in the MEETINGS section of this issue for further details. And last but not least, it looks as if we will have a wonderful summer. So you should definitely include an evening in a Biergarten as part of your Munich schedule.

A few more words about the World of Photonics Congress: The scientific program at the Laser fair has grown over the years and nowadays represents the largest European meeting on photonics. Yet, there is still some confusion surrounding it. You have about a dozen conferences, seminars and workshops to choose from. The numbers of presentations and visitors at all the events will be impressive, maybe comparable to the numbers at the annual Photonics West conference held in San Jose, CA (excluding ‘trade show only’ visitors). But while SPIE organizes the whole program in the USA, we have as many organizers as conferences in Munich. The results are obvious: You have a number of websites to register for the different events, plenty of different program catalogs (not even a common layout), and of course you have lots of overlap. When German officials announced governmental funding for the conference after the last show, there were hopes for a better organizational structure.

Unfortunately, this chance has not been seized. Maybe next time… This special issue of the “Laser Technik Journal” focuses on Laser systems. I have tried to acquire authors from the forefront of current laser R&D to give you a picture of the features and particular advantages of the latest laser systems. One thing is surprising in this respect: CO2 lasers are as important as they have ever been ‐ despite all the success of solid state systems (see market review on page 11 for details). Nevertheless, solid state lasers have made a lot of progress. Disk laser, fiber laser and even diode lasers offer completely new features and will allow for a number of new applications. With a number of systems certified for the German automotive industry (see page 50), the disk laser is in the lead, but the race is just starting…

The Laser Technik Journal is a German magazine, principally for the publication of new technologies and applications in the field of laser material processing. Therefore, the Laser. World of Photonics is “the place to be” for LTJ and it is a pleasure for me to partner here with a number of conferences and workshops. This will be Laser Marketplace, Laser in Manufacturing LIM 2008, the conferences of the European Optical Society and several workshops held by the Fraunhofer society. Please check pages 68/69 for more details of our partners' events.

The expectations for business and for the weather look bright and I wish you a good time at the Laser.World of Photonics. I hope you enjoy reading the new Laser Technik Journal and I look forward to seeing you in Munich.