Corridor In The News

Naples Daily News
Profiles in Innovation

January 30, 2009 - Editor's note: The Economic Development Council of Collier County has launched Project Innovation to encourage economic diversification for more sustainable, high-tech industries. Some such firms are already here. This essay from the EDC describes the type of firm, now elsewhere, that the EDC would like to add.

A University of Central Florida Technology Incubator company is nationally recognized for its technological breakthroughs in developing holographic optical elements in photosensitive glass for commercial and defense uses.

Headquartered in Orlando, OptiGrate Corp. is a privately held company engaged in the development and fabrication of high-efficiency volume diffractive gratings for optical beam control in high-power laser systems, spectroscopy instruments, optical communications and processing. This technology can be used to make spatial filters, switches, modulators and a wide range of other applications.

OptiGrate was established by researchers at the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida with the goal of commercializing high-efficiency holographic elements fabricated by means of the photothermo- refractive (PTR) process.

The holographic elements recorded in the photosensitive glass developed by the company are more durable and precise than other types of holographic elements currently on the market. The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) recognized the work of the scientific team behind the company as one of the top 100 technological breakthroughs in 2006.

OptiGrate designs and manufactures a large variety of volume diffractive gratings for both commercial and defense applications. The company also develops custom prototypes of various diffractive optical components for a number of optical and semiconductor companies. This innovative technology is protected by six issued U.S. patents and several pending U.S. patents.

Co-founder and chief technology officer Leonid Glebov co-authored the first publication on the discovery of the PTR phenomenon in a doped silicate glass and recording of the first volume hologram in this new material in 1989. Glebov was elected to the 2008 Fellow Membership of the Optical Society of America for pioneering studies of photoionization physics.

Formerly known as Light Processing Technologies Inc., the company reorganized in 2004 and officially changed its name and launched a new Web site to better reflect the high-tech products that it develops and manufactures. The company has grown from just one employee to now providing over 15 high-wage, value-added jobs throughout the Central Florida community.

Glebov's son, company president and chief executive officer Alexei Glebov, is a veteran of the photonics industry, starting his career at Bell Laboratories' Lucent Technologies and later working in various engineering and management positions with key optoelectronics manufacturers in Silicon Valley. He said that access to a pool of talented and educated employees was critical to OptiGrate's formation in the Orlando area.

Alexei Glebov also credited the University of Central Florida, which has a strong incubator program. Since its inception, the UCF Technology Incubator has helped approximately 900 emerging technology companies create over 600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. The incubator is collaboration between UCF, Orange County, the city of Orlando and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

He added that economic development assistance is critical, especially for small businesses in Florida. This includes low-interest loans to assist startups with their building construction needs as well as needed infrastructure and marketing support on a statewide level.

In addition to providing a building right on campus, UCF provides OptiGrate with muchneeded access to university resources such as its Internet connections and library.

The company entered into an exclusive license with the UCF for the basic technology of hologram recording in a photosensitive glass. This new proprietary technology for optics promises to be far more robust than alternative holographic materials.

OptiGrate opened its new glass fabrication facility in Orlando two years ago. In September 2007, the company was recognized for technological innovation in receiving a William C. Schwartz Industry Innovation Award from the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. It was the Florida High Tech Corridor's first-ever award for innovation in Central Florida.