INTERVIEW
customers and to customize. Our innovations, such as the integrated tunable wavelength lasers, active fiber loop or the new direct refrigerant cooling system, are not just about better specifications but about stable and predictable performance in real-world conditions.
What markets do your products address? We serve two main markets. The first, and historically most important, is the scientific community. Thirty years ago, ultrashort-pulse lasers were mainly research tools, often built by scientists themselves. Our mission was to provide reliable picosecond and later nanosecond lasers for research institutions. Today, eighty out of the world’ s top one hundred universities use Ekspla lasers. As ultrashort-pulse technology matured, we moved into industrial markets, first with picosecond systems, and now mainly with femtosecond ones, such as the FemtoLux. Our portfolio expanded naturally thanks to close interaction with academic users, who constantly need new capabilities. In industry, the goal is different: to optimize parameters and scale up for production. Our main target markets are consumer electronics, display manufacturing, semiconductors and medical technologies, including stent cutting and precision marking. This combination of scientific roots and industrial ambition makes Ekspla unique. We understand the physics deeply and know how to turn it into reliable, manufacturable systems.
How is your R & D structured to support innovation? Innovation is deeply rooted in our organization. Out of more than 150 employees, about 25 percent work in R & D. Beyond photonics, we maintain strong in-house expertise in mechanics, electronics and software. We design and build much of our hardware ourselves, including mechanical components like lens and mirror mounts. Our teams continuously improve fixation methods, model environmental stability and refine control electronics, which enhances robustness and reliability.
Being located in Vilnius is a real advantage: most of Lithuania’ s photonics companies are nearby, allowing very fast iteration with local partners for optical components or coatings. We also collaborate with universities and research institutes, both in Lithuania and abroad. Each R & D team follows its own roadmap to improve existing products and explore new concepts across femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond technologies. Maintaining excellence across all these domains requires sustained investment, but it is the foundation of our success.
Do you also develop high-intensity laser systems? Yes, we have a dedicated team working on high-intensity laser technologies, primarily for large research centers using terawatt and petawatt-class systems. We have delivered several systems for the ELI facilities in Hungary and the Czech Republic, in collaboration with our partners, and we supply similar systems to customers worldwide.
So you collaborate regularly with other companies? Absolutely. Collaboration is essential. We work closely with Lithuanian and international partners, depending on the project. In science, such cooperation is natural; you can only innovate effectively by combining complementary expertise. Sometimes we even collaborate with competitors if together we can create something new and meaningful.
Could you tell us more about Ekspla’ s structure and global reach? Our headquarters are in Vilnius, where we have R & D, production and administration. As the company grows, we are looking for additional space to expand. Beyond Lithuania, we have subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Korea, which handle sales and customer support. We also rely on a network of more than twenty-five distributors who sell our lasers and provide local service and maintenance. A dedicated service team travels globally to support our customers.
From your perspective, what are Europe’ s strengths and weaknesses in developing photonics? Europe is an excellent place for photonics, with strong traditions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and, of course, Lithuania. The weakness lies in inconsistent governmental support. The European Union recognizes the importance of photonics but often acts too slowly, and funding levels remain far below those in the United States or China. Photonics is now a strategic technology, essential for quantum science and artificial intelligence. Chips, data transmission and even data processing increasingly rely on photonic components. Europe has the expertise, infrastructure and academic excellence to lead, but without stronger public support and faster decision-making, it risks becoming a user rather than a developer of next-generation technologies.
Where would you like to take Ekspla in the coming years? I see tremendous potential in expanding the industrial use of ultrashort-pulse lasers. They are already indispensable for manufacturing next-generation semiconductor devices, and their importance will only grow. Each new chip generation requires more advanced photonic tools, and we intend to play a role in that evolution. Beyond semiconductors, the consumer electronics and automotive industries will also continue to grow, driven by new technologies and global demographic changes. In parallel, we see promising developments in medical and life-science applications, particularly in photoacoustic imaging, which is now moving from the lab to clinical tools. I believe it is only a matter of time before such technologies become widely accessible in hospitals. Finally, we will keep working closely with academic partners. Collaboration with universities and research institutes keeps us at the forefront of laser science, helps us understand technological limits, and guides us in developing new products that will serve both research and industry in the years ahead.
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