This is the syndication feed for Photonics Spectra. https://www.photonics.com/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:42:04 GMT Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT 1800
With the growing adoption of electric vehicles, the volume of battery materials and industrial waste requiring safe storage is also increasing. Scientists at LZH have developed a laser-based process for this purpose in the LasGlaReLa project.

As the adoption of electric vehicles continues to grow, so does the need for the safe and permanent storage of battery materials and chemical industrial waste. Certain waste streams require disposal in what are known as Category IV landfills, which impose particularly stringent requirements on storage containers. These must simultaneously ensure environmental protection, safe handling, and long-term structural integrity.
Researchers from Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) have found a way to...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Laser-Welding-Provides-Secure-Glass-Containers/p5/a72405 A72405 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
In the future, data could be written directly using light and stored in magnetic materials without the need for electrical signals. This would greatly speed data transfer, while lowering energy consumption in, for example, data centers and communication networks.

To develop a new generation of energy-efficient, high-speed memory applications, it will first be necessary to gain all-optical control of antiferromagnetic materials. Conventional optomagnetic recording techniques rely on net magnetization, a characteristic that does not exist in antiferromagnets. For this reason, optical writing of antiferromagnetic materials is, so far, quite difficult.

Researchers at the University of Augsburg, the RIKEN Center, and the University...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/All-Optical-Writing-Could-Offer-Fast-Efficient/p5/a72406 A72406 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The JLWS program seeks to transition directed energy capabilities from demonstration prototypes into field-ready, production-oriented platforms. By developing containerized high-energy laser weapons, the Department aims to provide combatant commanders with scalable, cost-effective intercept solutions for asymmetric and high-tier adversary...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/DOD-Contracts-nLIGHT-and-Lockheed-Martin-to/p5/a72402 A72402 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Metasurfaces offer multifunctionality in an extremely compact footprint, making them valuable tools for directing and focusing light in small devices like lenses, mirrors, and filters. But once a physical metasurface is built, its material, shape, and dimensions cannot be reconfigured. Such is not the case with an emerging technology known as virtual metasurfaces.

Virtual metasurfaces can be programmed to perform many different functions within the same device. For example, the same virtual metasurface can be used to mix colors, turn infrared (IR) images into visible images, or adjust the focus of a device. Furthermore, virtual metasurfaces can perform multiple functions simultaneously.
The virtual metasurface acts like a...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Tunable-Virtual-Metasurfaces-Perform-Multiple/p5/a72403 A72403 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Pilot Photonics, a spinout from Dublin City University, has been approved for a recommended investment of up to €10.4 million ($11.8M) from the Horizon Europe European Innovation Council accelerator. The EIC accelerator support comes at a critical stage for Pilot Photonics as demand grows for advanced photonic chip technologies. The funding will support product qualification, high-volume manufacture, and expansion of the team in Ireland and internationally.

(Left to right) Melissa Feddis, Enterprise Ireland senior advisor digital technologies, Kevin Burke, Enterprise Ireland national director for Horizon Europe, Frank Smyth, Pilot Photonics CTO, Peter Burke, minister for enterprise, tourism and employment, William Oppermann, CEO...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Pilot-Photonics-Receives-118M-Investment-Week/p5/a72401 A72401 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Co-founded in 2022 by Berghoff and Fleming Bruckmaier (CTO) as a spin-out of the Technical University of Munich, QD's technology aims to address a central challenge in advanced chip manufacturing. Traditional semiconductor inspection tools slow development and production because they struggle to see...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/QuantumDiamonds-Raises-104M/p5/a72400 A72400 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Transparent substrates are often selected for electronic and optoelectronic applications because the material itself performs an optical, mechanical, electrical, chemical, or thermal function. A glass or quartz component may transmit light, provide optical access, act as an insulating carrier, stay stable during thermal cycling, or provide a clean, chemically resistant surface in a fluidic or semiconductor process environment.

The benefits to the use of transparent materials as substrates are generally well understood. But the market opportunities that the semiconductor and consumer electronics industries are currently providing is ushering the related manufacturing technologies squarely into the spotlight. From a commercial...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Laser-Micromachining-Transparent-Materials/p5/a72399 A72399 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:28:00 GMT
The neuron-like behaviors of the nanowire structure emerge directly from the semiconductor material from which it is built, rather than from software programming or complex circuitry. Instead of capturing data first and processing it elsewhere, the nanowire device senses and interprets light in the same place, similarly to how the eye processes visual information.

The...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Neuron-Mimicking-Nanowire-Device-Could-Change/p5/a72398 A72398 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Rice University and the Max Planck Society have launched the Quantum Materials — Rice and Max Planck Partnership (Q-RaMP), aimed at supporting the identification and development of quantum materials that will support breakthroughs in sustainability, energy efficiency, and quantum and classical information processing.
Reginald Des Roches (left), president of Rice University, and Claudia Felser, vice president of the Max Planck Society, signed a cooperation agreement on June 19 in Paris. Courtesy of Rice University/Brandi Smith.
“Breakthrough technologies begin with breakthrough discoveries, and those discoveries are made possible through bold partnerships,” said Rice University President Reginald DesRoches....]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Rice-University-and-Max-Planck-Team-to-Advance/p5/a72396 A72396 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Focal plane arrays (FPAs) are image sensors that convert infrared light into electrical signals to produce real-time thermal images and are widely used in applications such as surveillance, astronomy and industrial monitoring. Advances in cryogenic FPAs have enabled higher resolution, sensitivity and faster imaging, but they also require data rates > 100 Gbps. Conventional electrical interconnects used to support these demands increase heat load through copper connections, which can leak into FPAs, raise noise, and increase cooling requirements and power consumption.

Against this backdrop, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explored cryogenic VCSELs (cryo-VCSELs) for high-bandwidth optical...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Cryogenic-Sensors-May-Switch-to-Light/p5/a72393 A72393 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Aalyria Technologies, an aerospace and telecommunications software company, appointed Brian Barritt, the company's co-founder and CTO at the time of the announcement, CEO. Barritt succeeds Chris Taylor, who has led Aalyria since its founding, guiding the company through its Series B fundraise. Before Aalyria, Barritt led the development of key networking technologies at Google. He previously held leadership roles at Meta, Cisco, and NASA's Space Communications and Navigation program.

PREMSTÄTTEN, Austria — ams OSRAM appointed Ashkan Seyedi vice president and general manager of the optical interconnect business line. Seyedi has extensive experience in photonics and high-speed optical interconnects and joins the company from...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photonic-Inc-Makes-Strategic-Appointments/p5/a72394 A72394 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Thales has signed a binding agreement with the Gorgé family concert for the acquisition of its 35.51% stake in Exail Technologies. Thales said in its announcement that it plans to acquire 100% of the high-tech industrial company through a mandatory tender offer. Terms of the complete takeover, anticipated to close in 2028, would carry a purchase price of €134 ($153) per share, putting Exail at an enterprise value of €3.9 billion.

With the acquisition, Thales said, it aims to increase its scale in the underwater warfare market, and to expand its capabilities in inertial navigation systems through the addition of Exail’s complementary expertise. The company is targeting accelerated development of its unmanned...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Thales-Purchases-Stake-in-Exail-Plans-for-Full/p5/a72392 A72392 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has unveiled an initiative that aims to integrate quantum sensing, networking, and computing into a single operational system to be deployed for real-world use cases — with applications spanning safety, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and more. According to the NSF, the newly launched Project Triad will lay the scientific and technological foundation needed to refine, scale and commercialize these systems through U.S. industry.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Triad brings together industry, academia and government to demonstrate the potential of an integrated quantum system for real-world applications that span safety, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and more. Courtesy...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/NSF-Initiative-Unites-Application-Ready-Quantum/p5/a72395 A72395 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The architecture spans three components, first of which is a transmit chip that generates a 20-GHz frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) ramp and drives eight optical channels over a fiber interface. The second is a radio frequency (RF) CMOS receive chip that runs 12 optical channels into a 150-MS/s 12-bit converter. Last is an 80-GHz...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Xavveos-Silicon-Photonics-Chips-Reach-Production/p5/a72386 A72386 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The SEQRET consortium partners have validated that existing fiber networks can support quantum-secure communication alongside high-capacity data traffic on the same standard fiber pair. The system demonstrated quantum key distribution (QKD) together with up to 64 Tbps of classical data traffic and reached distances of up to 75 km. The result directly...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Quantum-Secure-Comms-and-High-Capacity-Data/p5/a72387 A72387 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
A nanoplasmonic “leaf,” developed by researchers at the University of Chicago to mimic photosynthesis, offers a potentially scalable platform for light harvesting using nanoplasmonic structures instead of semiconductors.

Nanoplasmonic materials are made from noble metals like gold. The metal is combined with titanium dioxide (TiO2) into light-absorbing nanostructures ~15 nm in size.

When the plasmons in these structures are excited, they decay into energetic electrons and holes, called hot carriers, that can be used to manipulate electrical and chemical processes at the nano level. The hot carriers convert light into energy and provide electrical energy without the need for wired power sources.
Pengju Li, now a...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Nanoplasmonic-Material-Strengthens-Energy/p5/a72388 A72388 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
In 1927, the term “picture element,” later abbreviated to “pixel,” appeared for the first time in the American technology magazine Wireless World. Now, pixels are everywhere: in computer screens and television sets, where they create colorful images; but also in cameras, where they capture images. In any case, however, they do one or the other — either they control light, as in the case of a display, or they analyze it in a camera sensor. Until now, there have been no pixels that could do both.

A research team led by David Norris, Professor at the Optical Materials Engineering Laboratory at ETH Zurich, has now developed such pixels for the first time. These pixels can both steer light and analyze it. Not...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Researchers-Develop-Dual-Function-Pixels/p5/a72385 A72385 Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ocean. But what if the laser itself could twist like a whirlpool? Researchers have now demonstrated a rotating, spring-shaped laser pulse, opening new possibilities for fusion energy, particle acceleration, astrophysics and beyond.

Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of California, Irvine have demonstrated the first high-intensity “light spring” laser. Unlike conventional laser beams, a light spring rotates around its central axis at a controllable rate. If shone onto a wall, the beam pattern would trace out circles over time.
With specialized...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/LLNLs-Most-Precise-Optics-Enable-Laser-Spring/p5/a72383 A72383 Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and SRI International, a nonprofit research and development institution, are partnering to advance U.S. quantum research, development, and manufacturing capabilities. Under the agreement, SRI will establish the Quantum Manufacturing Engineering Center, which will accelerate the manufacturing of scalable, high-performance quantum components and systems, driving significant growth in the U.S. quantum industry. NIST plans an initial $20 million investment in the center’s activities. This agreement supports NIST’s plan to coordinate research efforts to accelerate the development and deployment of critical technologies in areas of national...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/NSTDA-VUB-Advance-Thailands-Photonics/p5/a72384 A72384 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, has been switched off to begin CERN’s Long Shutdown 3 (LS3), a major program of maintenance, consolidation, upgrades, and installation work that will prepare the Laboratory for the High-Luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC), the next phase in the exploration of the fundamental laws of nature.

The HiLumi LHC, scheduled to begin operation in 2030, will increase the collider’s luminosity by a factor of up to ten beyond its original design. This will allow researchers to collect vastly larger datasets, enabling precision studies of the Higgs boson and enhancing the potential to uncover phenomena beyond the Standard Model.
The LHC is currently shut...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Large-Hadron-Collider-Offline-for-Ambitious/p5/a72382 A72382 Fri, 03 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT