From June 15 to 18, 2009 the photonics industry will come together at LASER World of PHOTONICS in Munich. Decision makers and experts from leading companies as well as a highly-qualified trade public from industry and science will be obtaining information about the latest applications and discovering the trends, innovations and everything else that makes the industry tick. Read about the highlights that await you next year.

Where business and research come together
The fringe program for LASER World of PHOTONICS offers more than just information about current topics in the industry. Forums, special shows and discussions often create the basis for joint business projects. For example, the CEO Round Table, the Photonics Forum "Talking Trends", many special features on research, technology and industry and the get-together of exhibitors and participants from the World of Photonics Congress, which is being held at the same time. It is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is characterized by its scientific focus, which is complemented by application-oriented features such as industry workshops.

The highlights of LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009
At LASER World of PHOTONICS product developments and their applications in many different areas of our lives are intertwined.
The highlights at the 2009 event include:

• Life sciences and biophotonics
• Lasers in manufacturing
• Lighting

Life sciences and biophotonics
The life sciences are currently facing immense challenges. Biophotonics provides tools that are completely unmatched in the long history of technology and combines different disciplines, such as chemistry, physics, biology, medicine and engineering science. Experts from the fields of biophotonics and the life sciences work closely together to diagnose diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis and malaria at an earlier stage and to treat them more effectively. It is this creative mix of technology developers and users in medicine and the life sciences that has enabled the potentials of biophotonics to be exploited so well to date.
 
According to market analyses, biophotonics is one of the important technologies that will, in future, contribute greatly towards opening up new markets and creating jobs in the high-technology sector. In combination with the life sciences it opens up many new fields of application with enormous economic prospects.
The Biophotonics Symposium, which is part of a program funded by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, will take place within the framework of the World of Photonics Congress. In addition to the congress, the applications, methods and processes of biophotonics will, for the first time, also be a focus of the trade show and offer interdisciplinary insights into this area.
 
Lasers in photovoltaic cell manufacturing
Photovoltaic cells still offer no real alternative to replace conventional forms of electricity generation from coal or gas, as the manufacturing costs of solar cells are still relatively high and they do not have the required level of efficiency. But laser technology could allow solar modules to be produced economically. Wafers that are becoming thinner and thinner (100 µm) with increasing rates of production can be manufactured economically only with contact-free lasers. The high concentration and the low optical and thermal penetration depth on sensitive surfaces make the decisive difference. Laser technology in photovoltaics will be one of the main topics at the 2009 event and will bring developers and users together to discuss the exciting potentials.
 
Lighting
The further development of flexible photon sources is a requirement for creating future generations of energy-saving lights and optical production processes that rely on increasing miniaturization. Experts are already talking about optical computers and telephones where the callers see each other as 3D holograms: visions that could very soon become reality with the right innovative light sources.
 
At present, most of the many different applications are found in the areas of measuring and medical technology and in the lighting, packaging, printing and consumer goods industries as well as production engineering. A broad spectrum that will be very much appreciated at the world's leading trade show in 2009.