FEBRUARY 27, 2008 -- High-power fiber laser and amplifier supplier IPG Photonics Corp. (search for IPG Photonics) reports that it has purchased more than 100 key U.S. patents, and more than 340 of their foreign counterparts, by acquiring a photonics patent portfolio from British Telecom (BT; search for BT). This large portfolio includes patents relevant to both current and future photonics components and systems as well as devices and techniques that are commonly used throughout the photonics industry, says IPG Photonics.
The acquired patents concern pioneering research by BT in the field of photonics dating back to the 1990s. The patents are in the fields of optical fiber lasers and amplifiers, semiconductor devices, integrated optics, fiber gratings, high-speed systems, and optical networking.
Valentin P. Gapontsev, PhD, IPG Photonics' chief executive officer, says, "These patents complement our strong IP portfolio, including the growing number of pending patent applications that we already have."
Of particular note to IPG in this portfolio are early patents that cover singlemode lasers.
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