Code No: TMS109 Price:Rs1500/- Category: Electronics & Instrumentation, Control, Automation, Communication Information: Instrumentation

1. Scope and Coverage of the Study

The study is specific to Laser Instrumentation and a focused study on the subject has been carried out.

Non-Laser Instrumentation has not been covered in this study in details. A short coverage regarding the requirements of non-laser instrumentation for laser instrumentation has been given highlighting the salient points regarding the status of technology and the availability.

The focus and coverage is on the following categories of Laser Instrumentation:

a) Instrumentation of Laser Sources

b) Instrumentation to measure, monitor ad control the characteristics of the quality of:
i. Laser
ii. Laser applications i.e and products

The Techno-Market Survey covers the following:

a) Relationship and the importance of the specific topic to the broad area to which it belongs (in brief).

b) The current status of the technology in the world and in the country. Market (domestic /export) sizes and their potentials.

c) Assessment of the technology, resource parameters such as energy, raw material, infrastructure and manpower etc. to arrive at preferred technology options available to the country.

d) Short term and long term economic aspects of preferred options along with their feasibilities.

e) Impact of the preferred option(s) by itself and its spin offs.

f) Recommendations:

* For implementation of preferred technology option(s) identification of critical inputs such as raw materials, capital goods and human resources required and their availability, investments required to commercialize, and benefits/returns expected.

* For R&D / Technology development identification of the requirement of inputs and expected benefits.

g) Action Plan for implementation of recommendations along with identification of:

* Available technologies for Indian industry and
* The agencies/groups/individuals for implementation.

h) Expected impact of recommendations, if implemented.

2. Importance of the Topic

Laser instrumentation technologies for monitoring and controlling the output parameters of lasers beams assume a lot of significance and importance both in India and abroad with greater emphasis and wider usage of laser based equipments. Laser instrumentation provides the end-user with a wide range of options to control the laser beam output parameters e.g. frequency, intensity etc. To match his/her requirements. High efficiency and less power consuming laser instrumentation systems are being developed e.g. diffraction gratings, optical wave guide modulators etc.

3. Methodology followed for the study

The methodology adopted included:

i) Desk research

Desk research was carried out from published literature, Government sources together details on present industry status both in India and Abroad i.e. major manufacturers of laser materials/parts, major end users, major R&D areas and organizations, technological developments in the field etc.

ii) Field Survey

Desk research was followed by a field survey carries out on an all India basis with the help of structured Questionnaires. Segments covered systems and parts, end users, R&D organizations etc.

iii) Mail Survey

Indian organizations who could not be contacted personally and foreign organizations were contacted with the help of structured questionnaires through mail survey.

iv) Data analysis and report preparation

The data collected from Desk research, field survey, mail survey was collated, tabulated, edited and analyzed for preparation of the Techno Market Survey Report. Various technological options available to India for up gradation of laser instrumentation technologies and systems have been highlighted in the report.

4. Major observation / findings and analysis

a) Major problems being faced by the end users of Laser instrumentation systems in India

The end-users of laser instrumentation are facing a lot of problem of long time taken by manufacturers/agents of foreign companies in the repair of laser instrumentation systems. Since most of the laser instrumentation systems are imported, the critical parts of these are not easily available in the country. These parts include laser rods, laser optical components (mirrors, prisms), flash lamps etc.

b) Technology Assessment and technological Gaps

Major areas where substantial technological gaps exist in India when compared to foreign countries in the field of Laser Instrumentation Systems and Technologies include:

Application Areas – Lasers

In India, the application of lasers have been in the field of Defence (Laser based night vision devices), Research & Experimentation in Laboratories/ Research Institutes, Medical Surgery, Machine Tools (Laser cutting machines) and are quite limited. Recently Laser printers, Laser CD Players * Discs have been introduced in the country. High cost of Laser systems is one of the major reasons for low off takes of Laser systems in the country.

Abroad, lasers are extensively being used and application of lasers have been extended to areas such as surveying & construction optical communications, marking, wider range of medical surgeries, PCB etching, laser welding/drilling, bar-code scanning, laser printers, laser discs-audio/video, remote sensing & imaging etc. Greater usage of lasers in the foreign countries has led t a substantial requirement for laser instrumentation and hence a greater thrust for development and upgradation of laser instrumentation systems/devices in foreign countries. Their large and sophisticated technological infrastructure and Industrial R&D to develop efficient systems at lower cost have also played a major role in the development of lasers.

Laser Equipments and Instrumentation

In India no sophisticated laser equipments, laser sources or laser measuring & controlling instrumentation are being manufactured on a commercial scale. There are a few R&D organizations e.g. IRDE, Defence Science Centre etc. who have developed some instrumentation for their own applications. Almost all laser sources. Laser based machines (cutting machines, medical surgery equipment etc.) and related instrumentation are being imported in the country.

Critical Parts

Almost all critical parts/components of laser systems are being imported in the country as these are not being produced indigenously. Major parts being imported include optical components (scanning mirrors, mirrors, prisms, micro lenses), photomultipliers, photodiodes, ceramic tubes and channel plates etc. Even consumables eg. Dyes for use in dye lasers eg Rhodamine 6G are also being imported.

Laser output parameters controlling techniques

Since the laser sources and laser equipments have been imported and installed in the country the instrumentation and controls for monitoring and control of laser beam output parameters have also been provided by the foreign suppliers of laser sources / machines. The controlling techniques range from automatic computerized feed back controllers for controlling laser power, pulse width, frequency etc. to manual controls e.g arrangement of dye chamber and a series of optical filters to change thee laser wavelength and hence he power.

It has been observed that no sophisticated laser beam output controlling techniques

Techniques e.g automatic Feed back computerized controlling techniques for power, wavelength/frequency of laser sources have been developed in the country.

State-of-the-art Laser beam output parameters monitoring and controlling instrumentation e.g. Q-switches, electro-optic waveguide modulators which consume less energy, tunable laser systems etc. are not being manufactured on a commercial scale in the country.

c) Technological Options, Feasibility and Impact

Various technological options available to the Indian Industry for upgradation of laser instrumentation technologies in the country related with measurement and control of laser output parameters and Laser systems are detailed below:

Laser Instrumentation technologies (Monitoring & Control)

i) Tunable laser systems with narrow line width and modular design could be adopted for controlling laser wavelength in specific range e.g. 630-980nm. These systems have an accuracy of 0.02nm (wavelength) and a capability to modulate or lock to an external wavelength reference.

ii) Computerized feed back controllers for easy and automatic control of a wide range of laser beam output parameters e.g. power, frequency, pulse mode and duration, duty cycle etc. are the ideal choice. There is a membrane keypad on the controller, through which the desired parameters could easily be set. The unit has a digital display where all laser output parameters are displayed. Such type of controllers are useful for controlling laser beam output from Excimer Lasers, Gas Lasers ( He-Ne, CO2) used for operations such as cutting, welding, eye surgery etc. where accurate control of laser beam is desired on a continuous basis.

iii) Energy efficient optical waveguide modulators based on acousto-optic and electro-optic effects could be adopted eg.

- Acousto-optic waveguide modulators using a waveguide made from Y-cut LiNb3 diffused with Ti, that has a low electrical power requirement of 50nW, low acoustic power of 8 mW and low specific energy of 0.27 mW/MHz.

- Stripe Guide Electro-Optic modulators where the electrodes are shaped to form the elements of a microwave delay line and which have a low specific energy f 0.1. mW/MHz.

iv) The frequency off a Nd: YAG laser could be controlled by frequency locking/stabilization technique which involves use of the laser itself as the optical phase modulator. The novelty of the system/technique is that it produces the phase modulation directly with the laser head itself, thus eliminating the requirement of an external phase modulator. The system has a simple optical set up and is economical.

v) Frequency Control-Diode Lasers

Single mode, pseudo-external cavity diode lasers can be controlled efficiently by a unique technique that involves a rotating wedge as the tuning element. The tunable element can simultaneously change the cavity length and the beam-grating angle. The tuning obtained in this way is extremely simple, low cost and extends the continuous-tuning range in a pseudo-external cavity. The laser cavity consists of a laser diode, a collimating lens, a tuning wedge and the diffraction grating. The wedge is rotated by means of a precision galvanometer. By proper selection of wedge thickness/wedge angle ration one can continuously tune the laser over more than 300 GHz (0.6 nm) without current, temperature or gratings adjustments.

Laser Equipments

Based on the extend of applications, requirement in the country, following Laser systems/equipments which are being imported at present could be developed and manufactured in the country to increase their availability, reduce their cost, extend benefits of superior laser technology to end-users etc.

i) Excimer Laser Eye Surgery Equipment

Lasers are increasingly replacing diamond knives for eye surgery in the country. Excimer laser has been found quite effective in dealing with short sightedness, far sightedness and astigmatism.

The advantage of excimer laser over the conventional kerototomy is it does not weaken the eyeball. It is also called “Cold Laser” since it causes minimum thermal damage to the surrounding tissues. The surgeon factor is minimum in the operation since it is Computer-Controlled. The cornea is reshaped by the computer controlled delivery of laser and the incision is precise to the submicron level. The procedure can be visualized on screen and hence more predictable. The complications such as haloes and starburst effects are minimal or absent.

Lasers are also being used for lens implantation I cataract patients. Now a days the artificial lens is implanted after the removal of opaque lens and a few stitches are made after the surgery. With the advent of Laser surgery, artificial lens are implanted without stitches.

The cost of the Excimer laser surgery equipment which is being imported at present is quite high, approx. Rs. 1.0 crore. It is estimated that about 10 Excimer Lasers for eye surgery have been imported and installed in the country.

The cost of surgery for vision improvement in India is around Rs. 7000-8000.

The total medical equipment market in India, divided broadly into two segments-therapy and imaging –and including all types of medical equipments from hospital beds to sophisticated imaging and diagnostic products is currently worth Rs. 500 crores. Imports account for more than 50 percent of the market.

Salient features of Excimer laser system for eye surgery include:

It consists of a high repetition rate excimer laser with a scanning beam to achieve extremely smooth ablation

Utilizes a 0.8 to 1.0 mm spot beam which is applied to the cornea in a proprietary “flying spot’ pattern.

Scanning delivery system achieves temporal and spatial averaging as a result of its higher pulse frequency and constantly moving, overlapping beam, which is programmed to ablate approx.2 micron per scan.

The scanning method provides ablation zones of upto 9 mm. combination of smooth ablations and large ablation zones improve healing time and reduce length of post operative drug treatment.

Software driven scanning system, allows for flexible ablation patterns facilitate precise beam application.

Offers the surgeon both ‘X’ and ’Y’ control of laser beam in corneal plane through physician controlled joystick. This facilitates centration and tracking of slow eye moth ion. The joystick system also eliminates the need for expensive surgical chairs.

Since Excimer laser equipments have already been installed in the country, people are aware of the technology and the related benefits. It is estimated that about 10 such systems valued at Rs. 10 Crores could easily be installed per annum and greater penetration could be achieved if by indigenization the total cost of the equipment could be reduced. The major impact of reduced equipment cost would be reduced surgery cost and the benefits of Lasers could be extended to a larger number of people in the country.

ii) Contact Laser Surgery Equipment

Nd: YAG based contact Lasers are becoming a most versatile surgical tool in Urology and Gynecology as well as in other surgical and endoscopic fields. Lasers characteristic of minimally invasive surgery and resultant reduction in post operative pain and hospitalization hold a great promise for reduction in health care costs.

There are over 1400 contact lasers installed around the world in medical surgery field where as in India at present there would be around 12 contact Lasers only. The contact lasers are imported and have a high cost ie Rs. 40 Lacs per equipment. The cost of Laser surgery for example for prostate is only 10-15 percent more expensive that conventional route but it leads to other advantages such as minimum bleeding, less pain, reduced hospital stay etc. Contact Laser procedures differ from general laser surgery in that it makes use of a probe made of synthetic sapphire to reach the damaged tissue required to be removed. The cost of laser surgery varies between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 30,000. Routed through an optic fibre tube, the laser is beamed through the probe which makes contact with the damaged tissue. Also, the probe is designed differently for various procedures.

In imported contact surgery laser systems more that 70 different probes and scalpels are available. More that 25 different types of fibre-optic cables including a wide range of fibres with rigid hand pieces, non-contact flexible endoscopic fibres, fibres with integrated tips and fibre tact are also used.

Contact lasers can also be utilized for surgery in other areas eg orthopedics, ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery plastic surgery etc.

Contact laser surgery equipments have been installed in the country and user awareness is there. It is estimated that about 15 systems valued at Rs. 6 crores can be marketed each year in the domestic market. Presently he equipments are being imported and there is a need to indigenously produce them to reduce their cost and hence their cost of the surgery.

iii) Laser Industrial marking systems

Nd: YAG laser marking systems are being used for a wide range of applications abroad. Laser marking has evolved as the optimum combination of permanence, speed and flexibility for a wide range of applications. A Few major applications include:

- Marking of Hardened automotive bearings
- Marking of Turbine Blades
- Marking of Automotive components
- Marking of Plastic Parts
- Marking of PCB’S of Electronic Products

In India Laser Marking has not bee introduced but the market potential appears to be quite good specially in the Automotive industry (car, scooters, motorcycles, mopeds, auto components). The price of imported Laser marking system is approx Rs. 25 lakh. It the Laser source and other machine hardware and programming software can be indigenized, the total system cost can be brought down to around Rs. 20 Lacs or so.

It is estimated that on a conservative basis about 25 systems valued at Rs. 5 crores could be sold in the Indian Automotive market on a yearly basis.

In additional to the automotive industry, manufacturers of Industrial machines and electronic products and parts would also like to install Laser marking systems eg manufacturers of pumps, compressors, turbines, TV’s, Transformers etc. it is estimated that about 25 marking systems could be sold per annum in this segment, valued at Rs. 5 crores.

Thus the total market for Laser marking systems per annum in the country is estimated at approx Rs. 10 crores.

iv) Laser Diamond Kerfing and sawing Machines

Laser Diamond Kerfing and sawing is becoming popular in the Indian Diamond industry when compared to conventional Mechanical Kerfing as it results in a weight loss of only 1 percent when compared to about 3 percent in the case of Mechanical Kerfing and thereby results in minimum wastage and better process economics.

In addition Laser technology has also helped the Indian diamond industry in fetching a better price in the International market for its diamonds due to a number of factors such as better surface finish, obtaining fancy cuts etc.

Although M/s Sajanand Laser Mechanics and Gitanjali Laser House are offering Laser Diamond Kerfing and sawing machines, since the Nd: YAG Laser source and other hardware is important, the cost of the machines is quite high, around Rs. 30 Lacs per machine, for a machine which can process about 1000 carats of diamonds per month.

The imported hardware includes:

ND: YAG Laser source and cooling unit
Diamond (s) holding cassettes/trays
Monitor to see magnified stones while programming the machine

The software has been developed indigenously.

The present manufacturers put together are selling about 100 laser diamond processing machines per annum in the country. In order to enhance sale of diamond Kerfing & sawing machines in he country it is necessary to indigenously manufacture Nd: YAG Laser source and associated hardware which is presently being imported to reduce the cost of the Machine and bring it to a level of round Rs. 20 Lacs/ Machine. Considering an annual market for abut 100 Machines per year, a total market for about Rs. 20 crores exist in this segment.

Laser Source
Nd: YAG Laser Source

Nd: YAG Laser sources are extensively being used in a wide range of applications eg diamond cutting & polishing, Laser surgery equipments, laser marking, in research experiments etc. Continuous Wave (CW) and Q-switched Lasers are in usage. By carefully balancing peak power, average power, wavelength and mode structure laser beams for diverse processes could be generated.

The critical parts of Nd: YAG laser source include:

- Laser Rod (yttrium Aluminum Garnet)
- Mirrors (Rear, output windows)
- Electrodes
- Flashlamp Tube
- Instrumentation for control of laser output ie Q switch, modulators
- Power supply
- Cooling water circuit
- Rail/fixed Laser base

The lasers could have an open rail system providing increased versatility or have a fixed based for lower cost. The required operating wavelengths for majority of the applications range between 266 nm to 1064 nm.

It is suggested that Nd:YAG Lasers should be manufactured in the country.

Critical Components

Certain critical components/parts of laser related systems which are presently being imported should be manufactured in the country to improve their availability in the country and to reduce their cost.

A few components / parts identified for indigenous manufacture are:

- Diffraction Graftings
- IR optics and optical materials with high damage threshold
- Photomultipliers
- Photodiodes (high speed)
- Photo detectors (Fast & sensitive))
- Channeltrons, Channel Plates
- Fast, high power Q-switches
- Electro optic shutters & Electro optic Mobulators spanning the visible to mid IR range
- Scanning Mirrors (polygon plain)
- Streak tubes and cameras
- High Quality Ceramic tubes suitable for laser application and High Voltage Insulation.
- Electronic Circuits of Laser systems including Signal Amplifiers, Electro-optic modulators, Automatic Power Control (APC) Circuit, Display Modules: LED (LED array, LED driver circuit), CRT (Time delay and integration circuitry, Multiplexers, Logic Controller, Video signal processor, Video Amplifier, CRT).

5. Recommendations and Suggested Action Plan

a. A few laser instrumentation technologies which could be adopted by the industry, research laboratories, Institutes for efficient control, of laser output parameters include:

i) Computerized feed back controllers for easy and automatic control of output parameters of lasers e.g power (intensity) and frequency in Excimer and Gas (He-Ne, CO2) laser sources.

The computerized feedback controls are imported at present and it si suggested tat these should be manufactured in the country. Manufacturers of chemical; process control equipments eg Toshniwal Brothers Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, L&T, Madras etc. can take up the manufacture of these systems in India.

Majority of the system components/parts can easily be procured from indigenous manufacturers of these products such as:

S. No. Part Manufacturers

1 UHP Gas Cylinders - Bharat Pump and compressors Ltd., Allahabad
- Everest Kanto cylinders Ltd., Bombay

2 Gas pipelines (S.S) - Apex Tube Pvt. Ltd., Alwar
- TISCO, Jamshedpur
3 Process control valves - VKE, Valves Ind. Pvt. Ltd., Bombay
- Star Precision Electronics (I) Ltd., Baroda

4 Gas pumps - Cryopump Asia, New Delhi.
- Bharat Pumps & Compressors Ltd., Naini

5 Pressure gauges - Manometer (India)
- Pvt. Ltd., Bombay
- H. Guru Instruments, Ludhiana

6 Photoelectric Cells - Khandelwal Hermann Electronics Ltd. Bombay
- Hindustan Scientific Instruments Co. New Delhi.

7 Calorimeter - Nulab Equipment Company Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
- Photo Electric Instruments Pvt. Ltd., Jodhpur

8 Fiber optic cables - OPTEL, Bhopal
- Finolex, Pune
9 LED Display Module - BEL, Bangalore
- CEL, Sahibabad
10 Membrane Keypads/key boards - Modular Systems, Pune
- Control Devices, Bombay
11 Feedback PID control System & Instrumentation - ECIL, Hyderabad
- Toshniwal Bros. Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore
- Larsen & Tubro Ltd., Madras

ii) Tunable laser systems for control of wavelength of laser beam.

iii) Energy efficient optical waveguide modulators based electro-optic and acousto-optic effects.

iv) Frequency control of Nd: YAG laser by frequency locking / stabilization technique using the laser itself as the optical phase modulator.

The critical parts of the system can easily be procured from the following indigenous manufacturers:

S. No. Part Manufacturer/Supplier

1 Beam splitter, optical mirrors - Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
2 Amplifier - NALCO, Bombay
- BEL, Bangalore
3 Oscillator - Sycon Instrument Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore

4 Signal Mixer - -------------- do------------
5 Telescope - Electrofones, Ambala Cantt.

Photodiodes would have to be imported initially but could be develop and manufactured by organizations such as Semi Conductors Ltd., Pune, Continental Devices India Ltd., New Delhi etc.

v) Frequency control of diode lasers by using the rotating wedge as the tuning element.

Majority of the system parts can be procured from indigenous sources:

S. No. Part Manufacturer/Supplier

1 Collimating Lens - Defence Sceince Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
2 Diffraction grating - -------- do ---------
3 Oscilloscope - NALCO, Bombay
- BPL, Bangalore
- Aplab Bombay

A few parts which have to be imported at present but could gradually be indigenized include:

S. No. Part Organization which can
develop it

1 Scanning Polygon Mirror - Defence Science Centre, Delhi
2 Scanning Confocal etalon, Rotating wedge
- -------- do ---------
3 photodiode - Semi Conductors Ltd., Pune
- Continental Devices India, New Delhi.

4. Control Circuits for scanner current, diode temperature control, diode current control - Microcircuits Ltd., Bangalore
- Vikas Hybrids & Elect. Ltd, New Delhi.

b. A few Laser systems/ Equipments that are being imported at present and which have excellent market potential both in the Domestic and Export Markets should be developed and manufactured in India. These include:

i) Excimer Laser Eye Surgery Equipment

The Excimer Laser Eye Surgery Equipment can be manufactured by any of the prominent Companies currently engaged in the production and marketing of Medical Equipments such as Siemens, Wipro etc. the Features and the facilities available on the machines would be finalized in close consultations with leading ophthalmic surgeons in the country.

Major parts of the systems which need to be manufactured in the country and organizations identified for their design, development and manufacture are listed below:

S. No. Part Organization for its development and manufacture

1 Excimer Laser (ArF 193 nm)
- Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- National Physical Lab, Delhi
2 Laser Beam Scanning System
- IRDE, Dehradun
- Solid State Physics Lab, Delhi
3 Fiber Optic Laser Delivery System
- OPTEL, Bhopal
- Finolex, Pune
4 Programming & Control Unit (monitor, CPU, Keyboard Mouse, Joystick)
- CMC Ltd., New Delhi
- Hindustan Services Pvt. Ltd., Bombay
- Star Precision Electronics (I) Ltd., Baroda

5 Scanning software
- TCS, New Delhi
- CMC Ltd, New Delhi.
6 Automated eye tracking system
- IRDE, Dehradun
- DEBEL, Bangalore
7 Corneal topography system
- -------- do ---------
8 Video Display Camera - ECIL, Hyderabad
- MELTRON, Bombay

If required the Equipment design could be procured from foreign organization such as Laser Sight Inc, USA etc.

Excimer Laser have not been developed in the country so far and R&D organizations such as Defence Science Centre, IRDE would have to lay special thrust on their development.

ii) Contact Laser Surgery Equipment

Contact Laser Surgery Equipment can be produced in the country by companies dealing in/manufacturing of medical surgery equipments. For example Gainwell Medimart Ltd., Bangalore, who are presently marketing contact Laser surgery Equipments manufactured by SLT, USA could as a backward integration consider manufacturing of these in India based on SLT’s technical know-how.

The features & facilities to be provided on the Machine could be selected based on feedback/ consultation with reputed surgeons in the field of Gynecology, Urology, ENT, Orthopedics, etc.

The major parts of the system which need to be developed and manufactured in India and organizations related with their development & manufacturing are listed below:

S. No. Part Organization for its development and manufacture

1 Nd:YAG Laser source and control & monitoring instrumentation (25/40 W system)
- Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
2 Fiber Optic Laser Delivery System including Fibre optic tube, Fiber optic cables
- OPTEL, Bhopal
- Finolex, Pune
3 Laser Probes & Scalpels of sapphire - DEBEL, Bangalore
- Advanced Micronics Devices, Bangalore
- Defence Science Centre, Delhi
4 Other related hardware such as operation Table etc.
- Empire Industries Ltd., Bombay
- Delhi Surgical & Dressings Delhi.

If necessary, the contact Laser surgery equipment design could be obtained from the following foreign manufacturers:

- Surgical Laser Technologies (SLT), USA
- Britt Laser Co, USA

Special Laser Probes & scalpels required for various kind of surgeries would have to be developed in the country and required specific R&D programme to be formulated by R&D organizations.

iii) Laser Industrial Marking System

Manufacturing of Laser Industrial Marking system in the country can be taken up by one of the major manufacturers on Machine Tools in the country since it will fall in line with their existing products and the existing Marketing Network could be utilized for marketing of this product. Companies such as Goderj, HMT etc. can add this product to their existing product range.

Following critical parts of the Laser Marking system would have to be developed and produced with in the country and a few recommended organizations for their development and manufacture are:

S. No. Part Organization for its development and manufacture

1 Nd:YAG Laser source and control & monitoring instrumentation
- Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
2 Operator’s computer (CPU, Monitor, Keyboard) with color EGA display facility
- WIPRO Ltd., New Delhi
- CMC Ltd., New Delhi
3 Dedicated Marking Control Computer System - CMC Ltd., New Delhi
- WIPRO Ltd., New Delhi
- Sujata Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd., Bombay

4 System programming software
- CMC Ltd., New Delhi
- TCS Ltd., New Delhi
5 Hardware eg conveyer system, multi Axis X-Ytables, rotary Tables etc. - Machine Tool Manufactures
- (HMT, Godrej, Ameteep etc.)

If required, system design & drawings for Laser Marking system could be obtained from the following sources:

- Lumonics Inc, USA.
- Laser technics, USA

c. Laser Diamond Kerfing and sawing Machines are widely being used in the country and M/s Sajanad Laser Mechanics and Gitanjali Lazer House are manufacturing these in India. The Machine cost is high at present due to high import content of about 60% of the value of the Machine. It is recommended that by development ad indigenous manufacture if the following parts of the Machine, the Machine cost could be brought down from present level of Rs. 30 lacs to about Rs. 20 lacs:

S. No. Part for indigenization Recommended organization for its development manufacture

1 Nd:YAG Laser source and control & monitoring instrumentation and cooling unit - Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
2 Diamond holding cassettes/trays
- Central Machine tool Institute, Bangalore
- Machine Tool Manufactures

3 Monitor to see magnified stones - CMC Ltd., New Delhi
- ECIL, Hyderabad

d. It is recommended that the following laser elated components that are not being made in India should be manufactured in the country to increase their availability and reduce system costs:

S. No. Part Recommended organization for manufacture

1 Diffraction Gratings, IR optics - Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
2 Optical materials high damage threshold
- IRDE, Dehradun
- CG&CRI, Durgapur
3 Photomultipliers, photodiodes - Semiconductors Ltd., Pune
- Continental Devices India Ltd., New Delhi

4 Photo detector - Solid State Physics Lab, Delhi

5 Ceramic tubes – Laser quality - BEL, Bangalore
- CEL, Sahibabad
6 High voltage insulation - Industrial silicones, Madras Dr. Beck & Co., Pune

7 Q-switches, Electro-optic shutters/modulators -
8 Scanning Mirror - Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- IRDE, Dehradun
9 Streak Tubes and Cameras - IRDE, Dehradun
- ECIL, Hyderabad
10 Channeltrons channel plates - Defence Science Centre, Delhi
- BEL, Bangalore

e. A few Laser based systems/technologies which have been developed in the country, and prototypes have been tested need commercialization and wider propagation both at the National and International Fronts include:

i) Laser based alignment system:

The system has been developed by the Instrument Design and development centre of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Hyderabad. The system is much cheaper than the imported ones, costing only Rs. 5 Lacs when compared to Rs. 25 Lacs for the imported system. Major application area include alignment of linear particle accelerators, aircraft wings, generators, machines etc. two key components of the system ie He-Ne Laser source and Telescopic lens are imported and cost around Rs. 40,000. it two objects to be aligned are placed 5 m apart, the instrument can detect a deviation of as little as 0.005 mm and is quite accurate. If narrow Laser beams could be used, the system’s range could be extended to 15 m. One system is already functioning at BHEL’s Hardware unit. BHEL to take up the manufacture of the instrument on a commercial basis.

The imported parts of the system can be indigenous by the following organizations:

- He Ne Laser source : Defence Science Centre, Delhi
: NPL, Delhi

- Telescopic lens : IRDE, Dehradun

ii) Laser system for monitoring High voltage in Power transmission Lines

Instrument Design & Development Centre (IIT, Delhi) and BHEL together have developed a Laser system that can measure high voltages (30,000-40,000) in electric overhead transmission lines without contacting the cable. The system is quite useful for the Power Companies, State Electricity Boards in monitoring the in-transit loss of power in high tension transmission lines. An optical fibre is looped around the power cable without touching it and a plane polarized laser beam is fed into the loop. BHEL has plans to manufacture the system on a mass scale.

f. For further Research and Development following areas have been identified:

Solid State Lasers

Development of various laser materials and parts:

- High power solid state lasers such as Homium, Thulium and Erbium doped YAG and YSGG which offer wavelengths or around two to three microns
- Laser rods and Flash lamps.

Major organizations identified for development are:

i) Defence Science Centre, Delhi.
ii) Advanced Laser Systems, Faridabad.

Gas Leasers

In initial Major emphasis has to be laid down on the development of refilling technology of Laser tubes. There are many gas lasers in Defence, Medical Outfits, Research Institutes, National Laboratories and in Private Organizations which need immediate replacement of Tubes. Refilled gas tubes will be substantially cheaper than procuring new Gas tubes. Second step could be on improving upon the hard scaling technology.

Semiconductor Lasers

Semiconductor Lasers are extensively being used in Medical therapy, resistor trimming, scientific experiments etc. the Laser source along with the instrumentation system for monitoring, Controlling and setting up of Laser output parameters have a great market potential in the country as well as abroad. The most commonly used semiconductor materials is Gallium Arsendie (GaAs) which is capable of Laser faction at Rood Temperature and when compared to soil state and gas type lasers, is much smaller, more efficient and cheaper to produce.

In the field of semiconductor laser diodes, demand is growing for devices with higher output power and shorter wavelength that can more accurately read higher density data eg laser diode with 100 mw output power, at 690 nm wavelength. Semiconductor laser diodes with powerful, visible (red) laser beam have ample demand in products such as optical measuring systems, medical equipments, CD-ROM’S, optical disc players, Laser printers etc. and need to be developed in the country. Organizations such as Advanced Laser Systems, Faridabad, Defence Science Centre can play vital role in this regards.

Laser Materials

New non linear optical materials such as BBO, LBO, KTP, KTA, Ag GaSe 2, CdSe and ZnGeP2 need to be developed in the country. Development of glasses eg Erbium doped glass slabs are necessary for development of Eye-Safe lasers for a wide range of applications. Multilayer coated mirrors and optical materials with high damage threshold need to be developed.

Research programmes should also aim at growing crystal materials of low cost eg CNGG (Calcium Niobium Gallium Garnet) crystals which are low cost alternative to Nd: YAG. It is suggested that a dedicated facility be set up in the country for development of special laser optics & Multilayer coated mirrors. In addition a dedicated facility should also be set-up for growing crystals needed for lasers ad non linear materials.

Electronic Components

In order to manufacture electronic circuits for the Laser systems it is necessary to develop critical electronic components, such as VLSI chips, ASICS, PLD’S, IC’S etc in the country and major organizations which can take up the task of development of these electronic components include:

- BEL, Bangalore
- SCL, Mohali
- Semiconductor Ltd., Pune.

The development of electronic components would have a tremendous impact on the growth of Laser consumer produces in the country such as Laser printers, Laser disc players etc.

g. The manufacturers/agents in India of foreign manufacturers of laser systems should lay greater thrust on the after sales repair and maintenance services to the end users of these systems. This would help the small/medium category end users of these systems to a great extend and result in proper system maintenance.

h. Although Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) has laid down is quality standards for a few laser instruments, parts/components not all importance laser instrumentation system are covered. It is recommended that IS standards should be laid down for laser interferometers, diffraction gratings etc.

i. The demand/requirement for laser instrumentation systems is directly related with the extend of application of lasers in the country. It has been observed that applications of lasers in India has been to very few areas such as Laser cutting, Laser Surgery, Research etc. a few promising areas for laser applications which in turn would generate substantial demand for laser instrumentation in the country are in the field of construction industry, laser marking etching of PCB’s, laser alignment, High voltage measurement in electricity transmission lines. It is suggested tat Laser systems should be exhibited by Importers/ Manufacturers/Developers in Trade Fairs/Exhibitions being organized by CII to create greater awareness among end users.

j. Tremendous export potential exists in foreign countries for Laser Equipments such as Laser eye surgery equipment, contact laser surgery equipment, Laser marking system, Laser alignment system. In order to tap the foreign markets, the products should be designed as per International design, specifications and requirements and should e priced lower. Products could be exhibited in Trade Exhibitions being organized from time to time in foreign countries.