History

FORC-Photonics was established in 2005 having a mission to implement scientific and technical ideas and results of research obtained in FORC RAS (Fiber Optics Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in into advanced design and technological solutions. These works are mainly associated with the creation of special optical fibers, fiber light sources (including fiber lasers), as well as fiber-optic sensors and complete measuring systems. Since the creation of FORC-Photonics, its employees, who are mostly graduated from leading scientific and technical Moscow universities, installed a number of key technologies that made it possible to create specific fiber-optic elements, application oriented devices and complex fiber-optic systems.

Annual milestones

2005

• Start of the project "Investigation of the characteristics of special ytterbium-doped fibers drawn at different drawing conditions", supported by the Foundation for Assistance to the Development of Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology (FASIE)

2006

• Our first fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) - first setup for FBG fabrication based on the KrF excimer laser was installed 

2007

• Start of the development of fiber-optic sensors for ITER (international experimental fusion reactor)

2008

• Own FBG-interrogator (URM - universal recording module) was developed
• Prototypes of one- and two-channel fiber end-face reflectometers for medicine, biology and food industry were fabricated
• A prototype of an FBG-based probe-type thermometer was successfully tested

2009

• Serial production of cavities for fiber lasers emitting at 1.04-1.15 μm (Yb3+), 1.55-1.62 μm (Er3+) and 1.9-2.1 μm (Tm3+)
• High power (up to 10 mW) broadband Er-doped fiber source emitting depolarized radiation was successfully developed
• Prototypes of FBG-based temperature sensors were developed and tested comprehensively
• FORC-Photonics became a member of the Russian Laser Association

2010

• Main technologies for high-temperature (up to 500°C) FBG-based sensors were developed. Temperature and strain sensor prototypes were improved
• The quality management systems in accordance with the requirements of GOST R ISO 9001 - 2008 (ISO 9001: 2008) were implemented

2011

• Prototypes of high-temperature (up to 300°C) vibration sensors were developed

2012

• Development of fiber amplifiers for communication systems was successfully started in cooperation with specialists from FORC RAS

2013

• Prototypes of fiber sensors and architecture of a distributed fiber-optic temperature measurement system for bus conductors and resistors of the ITER power supply were developed. The main data processing algorithms used in the software of this measurement system were proposed

2014

• A high-power erbium fiber amplifier designed to amplify short laser pulses was created

2015

• A new product - ytterbium-doped tapered fibers - was represented at the CLEO-Europe exhibition
• An environmental management system was implemented in accordance with the requirements of GOST R ISO 14001-2007 (ISO 14001: 2004)

2016

• The distributed fiber-optic temperature measurement system for bus conductors and resistors of the ITER power supply was completed and tested comprehensively
• The ITER project on prototypes of high-temperature fiber-optic temperature and strain FBG-based sensors for the blanket and divertor of the ITER tokamak vacuum chamber was successfully completed

2017

• A metrological laboratory equipped with certified temperature measuring instruments was created at FORC-Photonics facilities
• Magnetron sputtering technology was installed to deposit high quality thin layers on the surface of optical fibers
• Vibration testing system, designed for the simultaneous testing of materials and devices at high temperature (up to 600 ° C) and vibration in a wide frequency range (up to 5 kHz) was installed
• A quality management system in accordance with the requirements of GOST R ISO 9001 - 2015 (ISO 9001: 2015) was implemented
• An environmental management system in accordance with the requirements of GOST R ISO 14001-2015 (ISO 14001: 2015) was implemented

2018

• The distributed fiber-optic temperature measurement system for bus conductors and resistors of the ITER power supply was manufactured and transferred to the customer

2019

• The company became a partner of several international optical organizations and associations:
  
  • Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
  • Optoelectronic Industry Development Association (OIDA)
  • European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC)

2020

• High-temperature fiber-optic cables, temperature, strain and displacement sensors for blanket and divertor of the ITER tokamak vacuum chamber are being produce

2021

•  The start of the project "Design development of flexible optical cables based on hollow-core fibers and intended for laser beam delivery and conversion for applications in laser machining, precision sensing and biomedicine"