The spin-off VM Photonics GmbH delivers ultra-stable and 10 times purer laser light for high-precision optical measurements
November 20, 2025
Astronomy Astrophysics Gravitational Waves
To the point
- Business innovation: VM Photonics GmbH is a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute; AEI) and Leibniz University Hannover. It offers ultra-precise laser light for optical measurements that is ten times purer and more stable than that of comparable products.
- Experience: Company founders Henning Vahlbruch and Fabian Meylahn have decades of experience in developing laser systems for gravitational-wave detectors.
- Verified advantage: The new laser system outperforms comparable systems in terms of both power and frequency stability. This advantage is maintained even with subsequent amplification to higher laser power.
- Many applications: Potential applications include measuring gravitational waves, monitoring climate change from space, generating squeezed light and searching for dark matter.