HISTORY

As much as being inspired by the colorful plumage and song of the meadowlark, our company was named for having been started on a lark by Tom Baur while he was a researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

In 1979 Tom Baur, a researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, started Meadowlark Optics as an after-hours venture in a spare bedroom of his Longmont, Colorado, home. For a project he was leading in measuring the magnetic fields in the sun’s spots, Baur needed an optical device called Pockels cells, which he designed for his own work and to meet the project demands of other astronomers. Based on the success of that one device, Baur began to design and make other products. When operations outgrew the spare room, he remodeled his barn, replacing the hayloft with offices and workrooms. As the Meadowlark band of polarization experts grew and the world learned more of our ultrahigh-quality work, Baur accommodated the growth by revamping his chicken coop.

While still calling the small town of Frederick home, Meadowlark has been creating world-class polarization optics from a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility since 1998. To ensure precision and top quality, our 20,000-square-foot headquarters boasts the latest in clean rooms, optical fabrication, metrology facilities and a breath-taking view of Colorado’s Front Range.

In being true to our beginnings, we remain a pioneer, an innovator, and the only manufacturer of thin crystal Pockels cells.