Tucson-based optics firm gains R&D 100 award

AdValue Photonics, headed by founder and president Shibin Jiang, won the award for a high-powered fiber laser that operates in the 2-micron wavelength range.

The laser could have broad new uses in industrial, military and medical applications, said Jiang, a former assistant UA research professor optics and currently an adjunct professor in the UA College of Optical Sciences.

While no other Tucson-based companies made this year’s R&D 100 list, another optics firm with significant operations here was an award winner.

Connecticut-based- Zygo Corp., which has a major manufacturing operation on Tucson’s south side, was cited for its DynaFiz, a laser interferometer designed to make accurate optical measurements in environments with air turbulence and extreme vibration.