A new technology developed by Siemens in collaboration with NVIDIA accelerates EUV computational lithography simulation by more than 10x, supporting complex patterning for advanced AI chips.
TDK showcased at CEATEC an ultrathin meta-optics reflector designed for retinal projection smart glasses. The prototype is monochrome green with 750p resolution and a 45-degree diagonal field of view. The reflector is only 150 nanometers thick and achieves 80% visible-light transmittance. TDK plans to launch the green version by the end of 2026, a full-color version in May 2027, and mass production within a few years.
Why we recommend it: The source article gives thickness, transmittance, field of view and mass-production timeline, enabling comparison with waveguide approaches to understand retinal projection
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Active core alignment technology overcomes conventional manufacturing tolerances, enabling demountable fiber connectors to achieve optical performance close to fusion splicing, with connection loss below 0.05dB.
A Laser Focus World article explains that radial velocity spectroscopy is an important method for finding exoplanets, and that advanced echelle gratings can deliver high-precision spectroscopic measurements to support exoplanet detection.
The spaceborne High-precision Main Greenhouse gas Imaging instrument (HMI) aboard the Pujiang-4 satellite began imaging on September 27 and downlinked its first data. The developer team led by Xiong Wei at the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (AIOFM) performed a preliminary assessment and found that the payload's functions and performance met design requirements. HMI uses an information modulation technique combining spatial imaging and spectral interferometry, acquiring hyperspectral data in a 520 km orbit with a 30 km swath, spatial resolution better than 400 m, and spectral resolution better than 0.125 nm. From the first data, the team preliminarily estimated the methane emission rate of the Bogatyr open-pit mine in Kazakhstan at about 27.52±1.70 tons per hour.
Why we recommend it: The original article gives HMI's swath, spatial resolution and spectral resolution, and uses first data to estimate methane emissions from a mining area, showing the on-orbit performance of the combined spatial imaging and spectral interferometry approach
Infleqtion, in collaboration with Honeywell Aerospace and the University of California, Santa Barbara, has developed an integrated optical cavity that could help shrink quantum sensors to handheld size.
Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has developed a new device that determines the absolute surface shape of curved mirrors without contact by measuring the local angular distribution, achieving 2 nm accuracy.
A Laser Focus World article explains that megawatt-class laser optical systems are limited by optical materials, and even the tightest coatings absorb some energy and cause thermal distortion; a new method uses thermal imaging for large-aperture wavefront sensing.
Hengtong showcased its proprietary FPOD process at CIOE, achieving breakthroughs in octagonal fluorine-doped cladding tubes and fluorine-doped rods, securing independent control of specialty optical fiber substrate materials.
Alibaba Cloud experts said its in-house 400G, 800G and 1.6T silicon photonics chips have entered volume deployment.
The article describes ultrashort pulse technology using nonlinear compression in multi-pass cells to achieve kilowatt average power and pulse energies at the tens-of-millijoule level.
Collaborative research between China and Japan has delivered an optical breakthrough for AR glasses, so the lenses no longer look like dark sunglasses.
Fujia Gallium, a company incubated by the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, announced on March 26 that it had successfully produced a 12-inch (305 mm diameter) gallium oxide (Ga2O3) single crystal for the first time internationally, following its production of an 8-inch gallium oxide crystal in December 2025. The original report said 12-inch wafers can double the number of chips per wafer, dilute costs and facilitate integration into existing 12-inch silicon-based production lines. The company's next step will be to carry out full-chain collaborative development with downstream users covering substrates, epitaxy, devices and modules.
Fujia Gallium, an incubated company of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, is working with Shanghai Gongcheng Semiconductor on collaborative R&D across the entire gallium oxide materials-device-application value chain, which has now entered the device validation stage. Vertical Schottky diodes fabricated from Fujia Gallium's MOCVD gallium oxide epitaxial wafers have passed chip-level testing and packaging tests, and Gongcheng Semiconductor is advancing liquid-cooling module validation. The effort targets demand in new energy storage, data center liquid-cooling systems, and 400V motor drive platforms.
Fujia Gallium Chairman Qi Hongji unveiled a 6-inch gallium oxide vertical SBD wafer in a presentation at APCSCRM 2025. The wafer is based on the company's in-house high-mobility homoepitaxial gallium oxide epiwafer and was fabricated through joint tape-out with downstream device partners. The wafer includes four chip sizes: 3.0x3.0mm2, 1.0x1.0mm2, 0.5x0.5mm2, and phi 0.1mm.
The Russell Center at the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics has made progress in hollow-core microstructured fiber drawing, achieving continuous drawing lengths exceeding 15 kilometers with minimum loss below 0.3 dB/km in the telecommunications band. Related industrialization is being advanced by Xinkong Guanglian (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd., established by the Russell Center, targeting high-speed interconnects for intelligent computing centers and 6G communication networks. The team said this validates the feasibility of long-distance hollow-core fiber drawing and lays the groundwork for mass production of ultra-low-loss, ultra-long-distance hollow-core microstructured fiber.
Fuja Gallium has successfully produced a 6-inch gallium oxide single-crystal ingot using the vertical Bridgman (VB) method, a first in China. The crystal has a constant-diameter height of 30 mm, meeting the processing requirements for complete 6-inch conductive gallium oxide substrates. The company previously became the first in China to produce 4-inch gallium oxide crystals by the VB method in December 2024. It has also launched VB-method gallium oxide crystal growth equipment and supporting process packages with proprietary intellectual property rights.
Jingfei Semiconductor has achieved lift-off of 12-inch silicon carbide wafers using its self-developed laser lift-off equipment. The technology has previously been validated by multiple customers in the 6-inch and 8-inch silicon carbide segments. Compared with mainstream 6-inch wafers, 12-inch wafers offer about four times the usable area and reduce per-chip costs by 30% to 40%. This breakthrough breaks the technological monopoly held by overseas manufacturers in large-size silicon carbide processing equipment and provides equipment support for expanding silicon carbide capacity.
Fujia Gallium has set a new performance record for its gallium oxide MOCVD homoepitaxial wafers. Tests by the National Institute of Metrology, China, showed that homoepitaxial wafers with a thickness exceeding 10 μm achieved a carrier concentration of 4.2E16 cm-3 and a mobility of 181.6 cm2/V·s, up further from 172.7 cm2/V·s in March 2025. The corresponding standardized epitaxial products were launched simultaneously in June 2025, helping accelerate the industrialization of gallium oxide high-voltage, high-power power electronic devices.
Fujia Gallium has grown MOCVD homoepitaxial films exceeding 10 micrometers in thickness on gallium oxide single-crystal substrates. Testing by the National Institute of Metrology, China, showed a background carrier concentration as low as 3.6E15 cm-3 and mobility of 172.7 cm2/V·s, reaching an internationally leading level. Standardized products are scheduled to launch in April 2025, providing key material support for high-voltage platforms in new energy vehicles and flexible power transmission devices for smart grids, and helping to advance the industrialization of vertical high-voltage power electronic devices rated above 3300V.
Fujia Gallium has achieved a breakthrough in 4-inch gallium oxide crystal growth using the VB method. The single-crystal substrates show an XRD full width at half maximum better than 50 arcsec and are twin-free, with performance reaching an internationally advanced level. Substrate surface roughness is below 0.2 nm, bow is 1.8 μm, warp is 9.3 μm, and total thickness variation is below 10.0 μm, meeting the processing specifications for 4-inch silicon carbide substrates. The company is also launching its proprietary VB-method gallium oxide crystal growth equipment and supporting process package.
Fujia Gallium's edge-defined film-fed growth one-click crystal growth technology has passed an on-site review by an expert panel, validating the feasibility and stability of the automated gallium oxide crystal growth mode, with an automated growth yield exceeding 90%. The panel, organized by Professor Tao Xutang of Shandong Professor Long Shibin of the University of Science and Technology of China, and Professor Zhou Hong of Xidian University, conducted on-site assessment of the single-crystal automated growth program. This fully automated crystal growth equipment lays the foundation for the industrialization of gallium oxide single crystals and epitaxial materials.
After Fujia Gallium optimized its MBE epitaxy process, lateral power MOSFET devices built on its gallium oxide epitaxial wafers achieved a current density of 107 mA/mm and a specific on-resistance of about 21.2 mΩ∙cm² in the second tape-out round, representing a 78.3% increase in current density and roughly a 50% reduction in specific on-resistance versus first-round devices of the same specification. The work was supported by the National Key R&D Program project "Research on Large-Size Gallium Oxide Semiconductor Materials and High-Performance Devices." Fujia Gallium will continue iterating its epitaxial products and supplying gallium oxide substrates and epitaxial wafers to downstream device manufacturers.
Fujia Gallium's MBE gallium oxide epitaxial wafer has completed validation in lateral MOSFET power devices. A device with a 12 μm gate-drain spacing achieved a breakdown voltage of 2242 V, a current density of 60 mA/mm and a specific on-resistance of about 42 mΩ∙cm², on par with comparable imported materials. The wafer uses a composite double-layer structure of an unintentionally doped layer and a Sn-doped layer on a semi-insulating (010) Fe-doped gallium oxide substrate. Standard products feature a doped-layer carrier concentration of 1-4E17 cm⁻³, mobility above 80 cm²/V·s and surface roughness below 2 nm.
In July 2024, Hangzhou Fujia Gallium Technology Co., Ltd. became the first company in China to grow a 3-inch gallium oxide single crystal using the vertical Bridgman (VB) method, and developed VB gallium oxide crystal growth equipment based on simulation technology. VB growth requires no iridium, greatly reducing costs, while its uniform temperature field and small temperature gradient make it easier to grow large, high-quality crystals and suit automated, large-scale production. The company had previously mastered edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) technology for 6-inch conductive and insulating gallium oxide substrates, as well as EFG one-click crystal growth equipment.
A team led by Professor Luo Sida at Beihang University has developed a fabrication method for laser-induced graphene smart honeycombs with designable structures, allowing control of cell size, shape and graphene clusters. The process combines graphene paper, polyurethane film lamination and resin impregnation and curing, producing structures of about 150×100×10 mm3 and honeycombs with cell sizes from 2 mm to 5 mm. The team also explored applications of a wing-section model in anti-icing and de-icing, pressure sensing and electromagnetic shielding.
Why we recommend it: Linking laser processing parameters, honeycomb geometry and resin content to performance control offers a process approach for transferring 2D material processing to customizable 3D structures.