MenloSystems

About Menlo Systems

Menlo Systems GmbH is a spin-off from the renowned Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics. Professor T.W. Hänsch, director of the institute, and his co-workers have pioneered a revolutionary and simple technique for measuring the frequency of light: the Optical Frequency Synthesizer. This invention has been called "...the biggest advance in precision electromagnetic measurements since people began to measure laser frequencies in the seventies..."

In 2001, Prof. Hänsch, Dr. Ronald Holzwarth, and Dr. Michael Mei founded Menlo Systems GmbH. The founding was guided by the dream and vision of establishing optical frequency comb technology as the most precise measurement tool.

The commercial success story started with the first product in 2002: the Optical Frequency Synthesizer FC8004. It enables the user to measure optical frequencies with the highest accuracy with a table top instrument. Numerous world records in precision measurements have been achieved with its base technology, e.g. in the determination of the Rydberg constant.

Second in the product line were the femtosecond fiber lasers. The state-of-the art instruments focus on ease-of-use without sacrificing performance. Various models for applications like medical diagnostics, Terahertz spectroscopy, seeding of amplifiers and test & measurement applications are available.

The management team of Menlo Systems consists of Dr. Michael Mei and Dr. Ronald Holzwarth. Strong business building expertise is added by Alex Cable (founder of Thorlabs, Inc.). Further support comes from the board members T.W. Hänsch, Ulrich Mahr, and Bruno Gross.

Menlo Systems opened its US subsidiary in late 2006 to establish a direct line to its customers in North America and to partner with America’s premium research institutes for R&D projects. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts the new US office helps to grow the company and to continue its success in the American market. With Franz Kärtner and James Fujimoto, both professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Menlo Systems welcomed two distinguished scientific advisors with the opening of the US office.

James Fujimoto’s research team invented and developed, among other significant achievements, the optical coherence tomography imaging technology; Franz Kärtner provides Menlo Systems his unique expertise about ultrafast science and few-cycle pulse generation. The first product resulting from this cooperation, Octavius, a 1-GHz, sub-6-fs Ti:sapphire oscillator, was launched in 2007.

Over the years, the mission "To accelerate the advancement of optical technology for precision measurements and their applications from the table tops of research laboratories to standard use in communication and high technology industries" has been our driving force. It is lived by the team as well as by the board members.

	Professor T. W. Hänsch, Nobel Prize winner in Physics in 2005, co-founder and scientific advisor. Professor Hänsch is director at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and Professor of Physics at the University of Munich. He has shaped the evolution of laser technology from the very beginning and is one of the leading scientists in the field of atomic and quantum physics.
	Alex Cable, co-founder and member of the board. Alex is founder and president of Thorlabs, Inc and co-founder of NovaPhase and FiberLabs. With his long year expertise in the laser market Alex has guided the development of Menlo Systems from the very beginning.
	Ulrich Mahr, member of the board. Ulrich is responsible for start-ups and related technology transfer resulting from R&D at the Max Planck Society. Besides his board membership at Menlo Systems he is a board member of several other high-tech companies and a venture capital firm.
	Bruno Gross, co-founder and member of the board. Bruno is now chancellor of the Munich University of Applied Sciences. Before his current position Bruno was part of the operational management team that led Menlo Systems from a technology spin-off to a market leader in the field of precision optical frequency measurement.