Photonics. World of lasers and optics

The 17th international specialized exhibition of laser, optical and optoelectronic equipment “Photonics. The world of lasers and optics-2023”.

Photonics is a young science, its origin in the 1960s is directly related to the invention of the laser. In less than a hundred years of its existence, it has come a long way, becoming one of the highest priority areas of research: many discoveries of recent years in the field of medicine, physics, chemistry, technology and other fields have been made thanks to photonics.

The term “photonics” was first used in 1967 by academician A. N. Terenin. He defined photonics as “a set of interrelated photophysical and photochemical processes”. The invention of the laser diode, optical fiber, and optical signal amplification devices are all prerequisites that have created favorable conditions for the emergence of photonics. In the modern sense, science was widely represented in 1970 at the 9th International Congress on High-Speed ​​Photography. The impetus that forced photonics to actively develop was the massive spread of the Internet in the 1980s. Currently, the tasks it covers are not limited to the telecommunications sector and include: production and use of laser equipment; biological, physical, chemical and other research; optical computing; environmental monitoring; medical diagnostics and therapy; thermonuclear energy; military equipment and much more.

International specialized exhibition of laser, optical and optoelectronic equipment “Photonics. World of Lasers and Optics” has been held annually since 2006. The organizers are Expocentre JSC and the Laser Association. Over 17 years of continuous development, the exhibition has become the main communication platform for the laser-optical industry in Russia, and has received recognition from the Russian and international community of photonics professionals.

As the President of the Laser Association I. B. Kovsh noted: “The specialized exhibition of laser, optical and optoelectronic equipment has long become the main business event of domestic photonics and the congress of the Russian technological platform that works simultaneously with the exhibition. The exhibition is a great working platform for new contacts and orders. Our non-state enterprises, which work outside the state order, name the following figure: up to 80% of all orders for the year they receive at the exhibition. Why is this happening? Because in one place you can see everything, get any advice from any experts, calmly talk on any topic.

As you can see, we have no excursions here, no idlers. Only specialists come here who understand what it is about. And our business program largely outlines the activities that will be carried out by the Laser Association, the Photonics technology platform, and government agencies responsible for photonics in Russia. Here they look for partners and suppliers, analyze real opportunities and prospects, and negotiate contacts and contracts. According to our estimates, the volume of business initiated by this exhibition is at least 20-25 billion rubles a year. By the exposition of the exhibition, one can judge the degree of import independence of the country in a particular sector of photonics products.”

Today, Russia continues the dynamic development of the laser-optical industry — one of the locomotives for the technological renewal of many backbone sectors of the national economy. The exhibition demonstrates an impressive innovative resource of laser and optical technologies, promotes their early introduction into industrial production, expands the scope of their application, indicates the directions of future scientific and technical breakthroughs and helps to form professional teams aimed at their implementation.

The current exhibition is taking place in the changed conditions of the domestic laser-optical industry, the exposition has grown by 15%. This season, more than 160 companies from Armenia, Belarus, Russia and China present the latest equipment, innovative developments in various areas of photonics, including laser sources of radiation and laser equipment, fiber optic equipment and instrumentation, optoelectronics and nanophotonics, as well as laser technology for medicine, crop production, nature management and many other areas of human activity. More than 20 companies came to Photonics for the first time, which once again confirms the attractiveness of the exhibition for specialized businesses and its high authority among specialists.

The exhibition with its extensive business program has long become the main forum of the domestic laser-optical industry, the main working platform for its market participants. The past year required many organizations in this industry to actively restructure their activities, search for new suppliers and partners, and build new logical chains. In negotiations at exhibition stands, in conference halls and business communication zones, new business, scientific and partnership ties are established, industrial cooperation projects are born, and trade relations are developing. Laser, optical and optoelectronic technologies today play an important role in modernizing the technical infrastructure of society, in ensuring the security of the country, in the innovative development of industry, agriculture, medicine, and communication systems.

The Russian economy is now actively cooperating with Chinese enterprises. Zhu Xiao, Honorary President of the Wuhan Optical Valley Laser Association and Director of the National Laser Processing Engineering and Research Center, said: “Since the beginning of the 21st century, smart laser processing technologies have been actively developed. Laser processing uses a mechanism of controlled interaction of high density energy and materials in the field of molding and production. It demonstrates the trend of manufacturing technology development towards extreme physical conditions, high-precision energy application, cross-industry recombination and the evolution of interdisciplinary interaction. Laser processing is moving from an auxiliary production technology to a major one. Laser smart manufacturing is a combination of laser processing and smart factory. With the establishment of laser intelligent production lines in the automotive industry, the production of new energy batteries, photovoltaic cells, electronics 3C and other industries, the development of the laser industry is also accelerating. I am confident that with the further strengthening of Chinese-Russian laser cooperation, the laser technologies and industries of the two countries will undoubtedly determine global trends in this area and make a tangible contribution to the development of our cooperation.”

American sociologist and publicist, creator of the theory of post-industrial society, Harvard University professor D. Bell singled out three technological revolutions in the history of mankind: the invention of the steam engine in the 18th century; advances in the study of chemistry and electromagnetism in the 19th century; invention of computers in the 20th century. Following this logic and pattern, the 21st century should also be marked by another technological breakthrough, and now researchers are on its threshold. A breakthrough in photonics can give another powerful impetus to the development of science and technology in general.

Mikhail Kovalyov.

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