ANN ARBOR—Researchers at the University of Michigan’s Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS) and Kellogg Eye Center have won approval for a patent for their work in laser breakdown and ablation—a technique which could have far-reaching impact on everything from materials processing to biomedical engineering.

The comprehensive U. S. patent, No. 5,656,186, was issued to the U-M in August. Many foreign counterpart applications have also been filed. The U-M is actively pursuing license agreements with companies interested in this technology. Such agreements would be separated into medical and non-medical use.

A company, IntraLase Inc., has already been formed to make and market ultrafast ophthalmic lasers for the medical community using the patented technology. CUOS and Kellogg researchers are now testing a commercial prototype of the device at the Center’s industry liaison lab. CUOS is an arm of the U-M College of Engineering; Kellogg Eye Center is affiliated with the U-M Medical School.

“This patent is of profound significance, since it represents comprehensive coverage relating to the use of ultrafast lasers in applications to a broad range of materials processing technologies,” said Peter Pronko, a research scientist in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and one of nine inventors listed on the patent. “These include surface and internal processing of materials involving ablation, micromachining, subsurface marking, internal machining, and interfacial processing.”

“The claims are very broad,” said Mitch Goodkin, a senior technology licensing specialist and an intellectual properties attorney with the U-M Technology Management Office. “They cover a wide variety of potential implementations, and that’s another reason we’re very excited about this patent. We’re particularly interested in getting it into broad use for both medical and non-medical applications.”

Mitch GoodkinU-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan