COHERENT France

Coherent Inc. was founded in 1966 in California by physicist James Hobart and five co-founders, at a time when laser technology was still in its infancy. The company started very modestly before becoming a major player in photonics. After its IPO in 1970, Coherent expanded into industrial, scientific, and medical lasers, and acquired several specialized companies (notably with the acquisition of the Rofin Group in 2016).

The merger with II-VI Incorporated in 2022, a major group specializing in photonic materials and components, led to the creation of Coherent Corp, which is now a global leader in photonics, operating in more than 20 countries and active in lasers, advanced materials, and optical components.

Lasers have been the technological DNA of Coherent since its founding. The main outlines of its laser activities are as follows:

a) Industrial lasers
Coherent is one of the world’s leading suppliers of lasers for industry:
- Welding, cutting, marking, micro-machining
- CO₂, fiber, and diode lasers; continuous-wave, nanosecond, and ultrafast lasers; IR, green, UV, and EUV wavelengths
- Applications: automotive, electronics, batteries, medical devices, semiconductors

b) Scientific and medical lasers
Historically, Coherent has been a major supplier for:
- Fundamental research (physics, chemistry, biology)
- Biomedical imaging
- Ultrafast lasers for spectroscopy and advanced microscopy

c) Lasers for communications and photonics
Following the merger with II-VI, Coherent strengthened its role in:
- Lasers for optical telecommunications
- Photonic components for data centers
- Lasers for LiDAR, defense, and aerospace

d) Semiconductors and advanced-materials lasers
Coherent also produces:
- Lasers for semiconductor manufacturing
- Laser materials (crystals, substrates, optical components)
- Integrated laser modules for electronics and photonics

Coherent Corp is today a global leader in photonics, a key player in industrial and scientific lasers, and a strategic supplier to the industrial, electronics, optical communications, and scientific markets. With more than 30,000 employees and a worldwide presence, the company now combines the laser heritage of Coherent Inc. with the materials and optics expertise of II-VI.