Freeform optics that shape the laser beam.
PowerPhotonic designs and makes wafer-scale freeform optics in fused silica: some of the smoothest, lowest-scatter freeform surfaces in the world, for laser systems in industry, healthcare, defence and datacoms.
- 8 weeksPrototypes in as little as eight weeks, then volume
- 20 yearsTwo decades of freeform design and R&D
- ISO 9001:2015Accredited quality management
- UK and USManufacturing in Fife, Scotland and Arizona
What spot do you need at the focus?
Pick the beam profile and your laser. We show the standard product that does it and write the email to our engineers for you.
Standard product
Flat Top Beam Shaper
A uniform intensity spot instead of a Gaussian peak. Versions for scanners, for ultrafast lasers and for multimode lasers.
Product page and spec sheetStandard product
Ring Generator
Turns a collimated single mode beam into a small ring, under twice the diffraction limit, for tight control of the thermal profile as it scans.
Product page and spec sheetStandard product
Trident Generator
A ring plus a Gaussian centre at the focus. In remote welding it controls the melt pool while keeping the keyhole intact.
Product page and spec sheetStandard product
Bessel Beam Generator
A Bessel beam with a flattened intensity along the direction of travel, for transparent material processing and glass cleaving.
Product page and spec sheetStandard product
Multi-Spot Generator
Freeform diffractive optics that split one beam into a line, a grid or a hexagon of spots, with efficiencies close to the design limit.
Product page and spec sheetStandard product
Gaussian and Flat Top Diffusers
Refractive diffusers with a tightly controlled divergence angle, from fractions of a degree up to 10 degrees, for projection, scanning and cladding.
Product page and spec sheetStandard product
High Power Diode Laser Optics
Slow axis collimators, with built-in smile correction if needed, for high power diode bars and stacks.
Product page and spec sheetOpens your email to [email protected] with your choice written in.
Four ways to work with us
- 01
Standard products
Beam shapers, diffusers, homogenisers, array collimators and combiner optics, ready to specify.
- 02
Bespoke design
If a standard product does not meet your requirement, we design and make one optimised for your system.
- 03
Lightforge rapid prototyping
If your design fits the Lightforge process for an uncoated optic, it can be supplied in weeks.
- 04
Assemblies
Mounted, pre-aligned optical sub-assemblies, so you are spared most of the integration work.
Standard products
Fused silica optics with high power handling, pulsed and continuous wave.
- Flat Top Beam Shaper for ScannersUniform spot for single mode laser scanning.↗
- Flat Top Beam Shaper for Ultrafast LasersA thin window with a freeform surface, mounted in the collimated beam.↗
- Multimode Beam ShaperFlat top at focus from a multimode beam, for cladding, additive manufacturing and tattoo removal.↗
- Ring GeneratorSmall ring profile from a single mode beam.↗
- Trident GeneratorRing plus Gaussian core for welding.↗
- Variable Beam ShaperGaussian, flat top or ring from one optic, for dynamic beam shaping.↗
- Light Tunnel GeneratorA ring-shaped spot for macro materials processing.↗
- Deposited Energy Flat Top (DEFT)Even heat input across the powder bed in additive manufacturing.↗
- Bessel Beam GeneratorLong, flat focal line for glass cleaving.↗
- Multi-Spot GeneratorParallel processing from a single laser.↗
- Gaussian DiffuserDivergence from fractions of a degree up to 10 degrees.↗
- Flat Top DiffuserControlled flat top for projection and scanning.↗
- High Power Diode Laser OpticsSlow axis collimators and correction for diode bars and stacks.↗
Made by laser, smoothed by reflow
Our optics are made from fused silica using a combination of laser ablation and reflow surface smoothing, point by point. The result is a truly freeform surface that is very smooth, with low scatter and low absorption: what you need for high power.
We can model the surface metrology of the optic as manufactured, so you can predict performance before the prototype ships. Design, manufacturing and engineering run in Dalgety Bay, Fife and in Sahuarita, Arizona.
stronger welds in 1.5 mm aluminium (AA 6082) with the Tailshaper beam profile, in independent tests by WMG at 4 kW and 25 mm per second. Read the white paper
Where our optics work
- Laser welding
- Additive manufacturing
- Coherent beam combining
- Glass cleaving
- Laser cutting
- Precision micromachining
- Thin film processing
- Laser projection
- Data communications
- Skin rejuvenation
- Tattoo removal
- Laser inertial fusion
A Scottish company, growing in the US
PowerPhotonic is headquartered in Dalgety Bay, Fife, with a high-volume manufacturing site in Arizona. PowerPhotonic Inc. serves the US defence market and is registered with the DDTC as a manufacturer and designer of USML Cat. XII and XVIII components and assemblies.
In August 2025 Maven invested £2.6 million to scale our UK and US operations, following £2.7 million from Archangels and Scottish Enterprise over the previous 24 months. Customers are in the UK, Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea.
Talk to an optics engineer
Tell us your laser, wavelength and power, and the result you want at the work piece.
Your selection: . Change
Email [email protected]UK headquarters
5A St David's Drive
Dalgety Bay, Fife
KY11 9PFSales for the UK and the rest of the world.
North America
16220 S. La Cañada Drive
Sahuarita, AZ 85629ITAR enquiries: [email protected]
Japan
Business Development Director