High-power fiber lasers and amplifiers maker IPG Photonics Corp. announced today that it has entered the emerging middle-infrared laser space with the acquisition of the privately held Photonics Innovations Inc. (PII) of Birmingham, Ala. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition allows IPG to expand its product offerings to the middle infrared (approximately 2 to 5 µm). PII was established by researchers at The University of Alabama at Birmingham to apply proprietary and patented optical materials, lasers and spectroscopic technologies to the development and commercialization of state-of-the-art optical sensing instruments in rapid sensing, identification and quantification of agents and materials. Besides active and passive laser materials and tunable lasers, PII develops mid-IR microchip and external cavity broadly tunable light sources for scientific, sensing, medical and defense-related applications. It also makes integrated state-of-the-art mid-IR optical sensing instruments for rapid sensing, identification, and quantification of agents and materials. "As a result of this merger, the combined company now has significantly more resources and the ability to target many new applications in biomedical, sensing, instrumentations, advanced systems and materials processing," said PII President Dr. Sergey Mirov. "IPG is a natural strategic fit for PII, and we believe this will benefit both companies' customers." The acquisition is expected to have no material effect on IPG’s financial results for the remainder of the year. IPG Photonics and Photonics Innovations are both exhibiting at SPIE Photonics West (Booth 1107) this week at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information, visit: www.ipgphotonics.com