The LUMEN project brings together academic and industrial partners with the goal of establishing international leadership in the field of high-power (>2 Watts), continuous-wave fiber lasers emitting in the visible spectrum. It aims to address the current lack of efficient laser technologies operating in the 400-800 nm range, an issue that many industrial players are actively facing due to limited options in this spectral band.

A strategic industrial need in the visible spectrum

Today, several markets suffer from a shortage of industrial laser solutions in the visible range (400-800 nm), especially at output powers exceeding 1-2 Watts, where semiconductor and bulk crystal-based systems remain limited. This gap is particularly critical in sectors such as biotechnology (3D microscopy, super-resolution imaging, DNA sequencing) and quantum technologies.

In this context, the LUMEN project "Visible emitting fluoride fiber lasers" aims to address this unmet need by ensuring full national control over the laser integration value chain, from the manufacturing of rare-earth-doped fluoride fibers to the development of fully integrated laser sources. The project also focuses on securing sovereignty over key components through dedicated development efforts.

A structuring technological response for the photonics industry

To meet the demanding requirements of the target industrial applications, LUMEN will developed high-power, continuous-wave, visible-emitting fiber lasers, both polarized and unpolarized. These sources will primarily be based on fluoride fibers doped with praseodymium ions, although other rare-earth ions will also be explored to expand spectral coverage in the visible and UV range via nonlinear frequency conversion.

Leveraging the scalability of fiber laser architectures, these sources are expected to achieve unprecedented performance in terms of power, stability, and robustness, offering a unique position in the global laser market.

LUMEN brings together strategic national stakeholders, with OXXIUS serving as the project coordinator.

This project is supported by the ALPHA-RLH and Images & Réseaux competitiveness clusters and responds to a strategic objective of the French photonics industry: to strengthen its international position in emerging, high-value segments.
 

ALPhANOV's role

ALPhANOV, through its "Laser Sources & Components" department, will be responsible for the inscription and characterization of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in fluoride fibers using a femtosecond laser. A key aspect of this work will be achieving reproducible, industrial-grade processes. ALPhANOV will also contribute its expertise in fiber-based components, particularly in the design of pump combiners for the laser architectures, and in the packaging of FBGs.

Funding: i-démo


Project duration: 54 months