DESY Spin-Off Class 5 Photonics Acquired By Light Conversion

The cooperation between the Lithuanian and German laser manufacturers is set to strengthen their market position as suppliers of advanced ultrafast technologies for research and industry.

Light Conversion, a laser company based in Vilnius, Lithuania, has acquired Class 5 Photonics GmbH, a spin-off from DESY and GSI. Both companies are ultrafast laser system manufacturers, bringing together decades of expertise in femtosecond lasers, optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA), and advanced nonlinear technologies for the scientific as well as the R&D market.

The acquisition connects two deeptech companies shaped by similar scientific backgrounds and technology-driven approaches to business. Both companies originated in research environments and have consistently focused on advancing femtosecond laser technology in close collaboration with the global scientific community.

“Over the years, we have collaborated with Class 5 Photonics on a number of projects and developed a strong understanding of each other’s expertise. At different stages, we have been both partners and competitors, and today we are bringing these experiences together within one team. This step allows us to retain and strengthen the expertise built within both companies while advancing the development of increasingly sophisticated laser systems,” shared Dr. Martynas Barkauskas, CEO of Light Conversion.

“The most demanding scientific breakthroughs require laser technologies that combine cutting-edge performance with reliability and scalability. With this partnership, we will have the extraordinary opportunity to combine the best solutions from both companies, paired with the most rigid femtosecond lasers on the market: CARBIDE and PHAROS. Finally, we can deliver complete end-to-end solutions, and our customers will benefit from a global sales and service network,” said Dr. Robert Riedel, CEO and co-founder of Class 5 Photonics.

Class 5 Photonics and its team will maintain the operations in Hamburg, where they are based on the DESY campus in the Start-up Labs Bahrenfeld, and continue the ongoing customer projects and collaborations with industry and research partners worldwide.

Scientific Foundations for Cutting Edge Photonics
Over the past decades, both Light Conversion and Class 5 Photonics have contributed significantly to the advancement of Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplification (OPCPA)technology,  and its adoption in demanding scientific applications, as it does not only produce ultrahigh power but also extremely short pulse duration.

Light Conversion traces its origins to the Laser Research Centre at Vilnius University, where the company was established in 1994. From the beginning, the company focused on optical parametric amplifiers, that later became the foundation of its product portfolio and international growth.

Class 5 Photonics is a spin-off from DESY and GSI. After developing high-power OPCPA systems for extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) synchrotron and free-electron laser applications, the founding team established the company in 2014 in Hamburg. Over more than a decade, Class 5 Photonics hasbuilt expertise in the most powerful tunable OPCPA systems, ultrafast mid-infrared lasers and coherent EUV sources, including systems developed for attosecond science, ultrafast spectroscopy, and semiconductor-related EUV applications. The company’s efforts have been recognized with awards including the SPIE Prism Award and the Laser Focus World Innovators Award, while collaborative projects with DESY, the Universityof Hamburg, and industrial partners continue advancing high-throughput EUV sources for next-generation semiconductor inspection and materials research.