Menlo Systems GmbH, a Thorlabs partner since late 2001, is a spin-off from the renowned Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics (MPQ, Garching, Germany). Professor T.W. Hansch, director of the Institute, and his coworkers have pioneered a revolutionary and simple technique for measuring the frequency of light. This invention has been named “...the biggest advance in precision electromagnetic measurements since people began to measure laser frequencies in the seventies.”

This technique was the starting point for the original foundation of Menlo Systems GmbH by Prof. T.W. Hansch, Dr. Ronald Holzwarth, Dr. Michael Mei, Bruno Gross and Alex Cable, Thorlabs' founder. The company's first product was a very high accuracy optical frequency synthesizer based on the legendary frequency chain at the Max-Planck-Institute. Numerous world records in precision measurements have been set, including the determination of the Rydberg constant, with the original frequency chain.

Today, the company's objective is to develop techniques and applications that exploit the powerful tool of optical frequency measurement both for research and for industry applications.

On October 4th, 2005, it was announced that Professor Hansch and John L. Hall were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique. Roy J. Glauber was also awarded the Prize for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence.

Professor Hansch is director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics and Professor of Physics at the University of Munich. He has shaped the evolution of laser technology and is one of the leading scientists in the field of atomic and quantum physics. Professor Hansch is considered one of the true pioneers in high resolution spectroscopy. For more than 30 years, he has inspired quantum optics and laser spectroscopy researchers with exciting ideas, novel techniques and applications.