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Press Release Detail: Strategic Partner, Praevium Research, Joins Thorlabs Newton, NJ and Goleta, CA – January 13, 2025 – Thorlabs is pleased to announce that it has acquired Praevium Research, a world leader in the development of high-speed tunable Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs). Founded by Dr. Vijay Jayaraman in 2001, the two organizations have been working together since 2008, when Praevium became a member of Thorlabs’ Strategic Partner Program. Over the past 17 years, Praevium has partnered with Thorlabs on the development and commercialization of several novel technologies, including the MEMS-VCSEL Swept-Wavelength Laser Sources, Swept Source OCT Systems at 1060 nm and 1300 nm, and broadband SLD Light Sources for OCT applications. Their work in the field of semiconductor lasers and OCT has been published and cited in numerous peer-reviewed journals and presented at various industry events. Jenn Cable, President of Thorlabs, commented, “Praevium’s expertise and innovation in high-speed tunable MEMS-VCSEL laser design and fabrication has been instrumental to our success in bringing innovative lasers to the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) medical device market and enabling our own OCT product lines. I look forward to using our combined expertise to accelerate product development and commercialization.” Praevium Founder Vijay Jayaraman remarked, “Thorlabs has been a fantastic partner for nearly two decades, and we have been honored to work with them to develop advanced laser technology that is improving the quality of human life across the globe. We are excited to join this world-class organization and multiply the impact of MEMS-VCSELs and other emerging photonics technologies across a broad variety of biomedical, sensor, and other applications.” As a division of Thorlabs, Praevium will maintain its current leadership, with Christopher Burgner as its General Manager and Vijay Jayaraman as a Senior Scientist, continue to conduct business under the Praevium Research name operating out of its current facility a short distance from Santa Barbara, CA, and maintain its focus on the development of novel semiconductor lasers and detectors in partnership with the Thorlabs team in Jessup, MD. About Praevium Research Praevium was founded in 2001 with the mission of commercializing high functionality, radically miniaturized opto-electronic devices for a variety of system applications. The company’s core competencies are in the design and fabrication of semiconductor lasers, detectors, and photonic integrated circuits, and their application in medicine, spectroscopy, sensors, and communications. Praevium works with collaborators to develop new photonic devices customized to specific applications. Previous collaborations with university research groups have resulted in novel devices for spectroscopy, OCT, and machine vision. About Thorlabs Thorlabs, a vertically integrated photonics products manufacturer, was founded in 1989 to serve the laser and electro-optics research market. As that market has spawned a multitude of technical innovations, Thorlabs has extended its core competencies in an effort to play an ever-increasing role to serve the Photonics Industry at the research end, as well as the industrial, life science, medical, and defense segments. The organization’s highly integrated and diverse manufacturing assets include semiconductor fabrication of Fabry-Perot, DFB, and VCSEL lasers; fiber towers for drawing both silica and fluoride glass optical fibers; MBE/MOCVD epitaxial wafer growth reactors; extensive glass and metal fabrication facilities; advanced thin film deposition capabilities; and optomechanical and optoelectronic shops.