OREANDA-NEWS. November 15, 2010. The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies has agreed to invest in expansion of Russian production of advanced fiber lasers for cutting, welding, deposition, and engraving of metal items and high-technology telecommunications equipment for long-distance trunk communication at a subsidiary of U.S.-based IPG Photonics Corporation. Under the agreement, RUSNANO will acquire an interest of up to 25.01 percent for USD 50 million in the science and technology group IRE-Polus. Initially, RUSNANO will purchase a 12.5 percent interest for USD 25 million. Investments by RUSNANO will be devoted to expanding the production capacity of IRE-Polus in Fryazino, Moscow District, as well as developing sales channels of the company and new production technology. IPG Photonics plans to expand its manufacturing operations and broaden it research capabilities in Russia.

The history of US company IPG Photonics Corporation began 20 years ago in Russia, with the establishment of IRE-Polus. In the annals of Russian high-tech, the creation of this research-manufacturing company of global standing is unique. Founded by Russian scientists, over the last five years, IPG Photonics Corporation has become the world leader in high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers and systems based on them. The company is listed on NASDAQ.

IRE-Polus is one of three manufacturing bases for IPG Photonics Corporation; the other two are in Germany and the United States. The president of IPG Photonics Corporation is its founder, CEO of IRE-Polus, Dr. Valentin Gapontsev.

Fiber lasers (see description below), which offer a broad range of power (from 5-watts to 50 kilowatts) are gradually replacing gas and many solid-state lasers. At the heart of innovations by Dr. Gapontsev and his colleagues is a diode pump and nano-structured fiber that make it possible to reach high output power, gain an efficiency factor of up to 30 percent in commercial production, and reduce cost of ownership up to 50 percent. These characteristics significantly outstrip those achieved with solid-state and gas lasers.

“This is RUSNANO’s first partnership with a US listed company. The technology used in the project is a great breakthrough. Its power, compactness, and low cost of ownership open doors to more and more new applications for fiber lasers. Already they can be used in solar batteries, medicine and electronics. Domestic production of laser complexes based on these innovations will enable Russia to re-fit strategic sectors—telecommunications, mechanical engineering, medicine with the latest equipment and instruments,” observed RUSNANO Managing Director Konstantin Demetriou.

IRE-Polus is expected to earn most of its income under the project from sales of high-power fiber amplifiers and lasers with broad application and from telecommunications equipment. The company will manufacture communications systems that use proprietary fiber optic technology: 40-Gbps DWDM-transponders, reconfigurable optical multiplexers, optical amplifiers, multiport 10-Gbps multiplexer/transponders, and other communications equipment.