LASER Array Submounts Leveraged Project
NMSBA provides access to people and facilities that small technical companies like ours need. I do not know of any commercial company that would have provided comparable support for the problem we brought to NMSBA.
Based in Albuquerque, TriLumina is the first to demonstrate a technology capable of powering hundreds of individual lasers in perfect synchronization. The company’s laser arrays can “see” the world in a dramatic new way. Applications for such lasers are almost limitless, from enabling humans to see in the dark to
enhancing communication products.
Mial Warren, a retired scientist from Sandia National Laboratories and now a member of TriLumina, was aware of the opportunities NMSBA provided. Warren approached NMSBAto help with a laser-array-submount assembly. The submount provides electric contact for the lasers. TriLumina didn’t have the tools or expertise to improve the performance of these submounts. Moreover, Warren realized that other companies in the greater Albuquerque area, such as Dynamic Photonics, Inc., 3D Glass Solutions, Theta Plate, Inc., and Ideum, Inc., would benefit from such improvement.
NMSBA matched the companies with Robert Brocato of Sandia’s RF (Radio Frequency) and Opto Microsystems department. Brocato applied his expertise in high-frequency measurements and computer simulation to characterize, model, and optimize the assembly. He recommended design changes to the submount that enhanced its performance with the lasers.
The results provided TriLumina and the other companies guidance on how to improve the device’s performance and further product development activities. The data accumulated during this project helped the company attract additional investors, including a Boston-based venture capital firm. The resulting investment enabled TriLumina to hire two new employees.