Directed energy describes weapons or tools that send concentrated beams of energy—such as lasers, microwaves, or particle streams—toward a target to heat, disable, or disrupt it rather than using conventional projectiles. Like using a magnifying glass to focus sunlight on a single spot, these systems can deliver effects at speed and with precision. Investors watch directed energy because it drives defense and high-tech spending, influences regulatory and export rules, and carries long development timelines and maintenance costs that affect company value.
high-energy laser (hel)technical
A high-energy laser (HEL) is a device that concentrates light into an intense, narrow beam capable of heating, damaging, or disabling targets at a distance—think of it as a focused, extremely powerful flashlight that can burn or cut. Investors watch HELs because they represent costly, high-tech products with defense and industrial markets; contract awards, regulatory approval, and technical milestones can drive revenue growth or create significant program risk.
coherent beam combinationtechnical
Coherent beam combination is a way to merge multiple laser beams into a single, stronger beam by aligning their peaks and troughs so they add up cleanly, like several people rowing in perfect sync to make a boat go faster. For investors, it matters because this technique can significantly boost laser power and efficiency without building bigger single lasers, potentially lowering costs, improving performance, and enabling new commercial or defense markets.
fiber amplifiertechnical
A fiber amplifier is a device that boosts light signals traveling through optical fiber so data can travel farther and faster without converting light back into electrical signals — like a repeater for a highway of light. For investors it matters because these amplifiers are key components in high-capacity communications networks and data centers, influencing equipment makers’ sales, telecom providers’ ability to expand bandwidth, and overall capital spending in the communications infrastructure sector.
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CAMAS, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
nLIGHT, Inc. (Nasdaq: LASR), a leading provider of high-power lasers for mission-critical directed energy, optical sensing, and advanced manufacturing applications, today announced it has added 50,000 square feet of leased manufacturing and office space to expand its existing facilities in Longmont, Colorado.
The additional space will more than double the Company’s current capacity and enable the continued expansion of its beam-combined high-energy laser (HEL) manufacturing to support ongoing and future work for the U.S. Department of War (DoW) and other U.S. agencies.
“This investment in additional manufacturing space represents nLIGHT’s commitment to support our nation’s efforts to field directed energy laser weapons with expanded U.S. manufacturing,” commented Scott Keeney, nLIGHT’s Chairman and CEO. “It is also a testament to the Company’s commitment to invest in our own capabilities to accelerate the development of products and solutions that are vital to help safeguard our country’s security. Having already delivered a number of successful prototypes, the expanded footprint is an important next step as we work to increase the capacity of our U.S.-based HEL manufacturing, allowing us to meet growing demand for directed energy lasers.”
Leveraging 25 years of laser power scaling expertise and proprietary coherent beam combination technology, nLIGHT’s vertically integrated approach to HEL manufacturing – from semiconductor chip to fiber amplifier to beam combined laser – coupled with its U.S.-based manufacturing, has consistently delivered industry-leading systems to the DoW and our nation’s allies.
About nLIGHT
nLIGHT, Inc. is a leading provider of high-power lasers for mission-critical directed energy, optical sensing, and advanced manufacturing applications. Headquartered in Camas, Washington, nLIGHT employs approximately 800 people with operations in the United States, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.nlight.net.
