But for us the award reiterated the strong innovation legacy in the photonics industry. You see, Potomac won the predecessor to the Prism award in 1990 for our initial product, the ultraviolet waveguide laser.
Although many changes have occurred in the industry over these many years, the one thing that has not changed is the thirst for developing new technologies that lead to products, enabling future applications in a wide variety of fields. At Potomac, our founder, Dr. Paul Christensen invented an ultraviolet laser with which we pushed the boundaries of laser micromachining. Through process development in partnership with our customers in the medical device, biotech, and microelectronics industries, we were able to expand the knowledge base and develop the laser micromachining expertise for which we are known today.
Lasers and photonics have been the basis of many innovations in industry and manufacturing. The first 3D printers were laser-based stereolithography machines and metal additive manufacturing tools also use lasers to build up parts from powders. For the Prism Awards Potomac was tapped to present the 3D Printing award, the winner of which was PolarOnyx, whose machine uses femtosecond fiber lasers to 3D Print tungsten parts, a great example of laser innovation.
While it is never certain what the future holds for Potomac, advanced manufacturing and the laser industry, we do know that innovation will continue for years to come!
Animal testing has long been an established protocol in drug discovery programs. But there are systemic issues with the far from reliable methodology. In fact, only 10% of the drugs that move from animal testing to human clinical trials succeeds. Such low yields increase the time and expense required to get pharmaceuticals to market, fueling…
In the field of microfluidics, where precision is key to innovation and application success, our expertise at Potomac Photonics sets a standard. We specialize in the art of laser drilling precise small holes in glass slides and coverslips, a critical capability for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. These devices play a pivotal role in various…
The world today seems consumed with fears about Artificial Intelligence, otherwise known as AI. Writers, journalists, ad copywriters, teachers, and artists are fearful their jobs will be lost to computers but in manufacturing we have been applying a subset of AI to manufacturing for decades with positive results. Like other forms of AI, Machine Learning…