TRUMPF@TRUMPF_NewsOptics industryPicksAI score5959
Why we recommend it: Order growth coincided with higher margins. Combined with the semiconductor and data center demand cited in the press release headline, this offers a read on the changing fortunes of laser equipment makers.
Nature Photonics@NaturePhotonicsOptics industryAI score5151Researchers have developed and tested a new infrared light locking method that could support mirror coating schemes for gravitational-wave detector upgrades.
Researchers used European XFEL to generate extremely short attosecond hard X-ray pulses with record intensity, enabling studies of electrons in atoms and molecules.
Researchers used laser pulses to align tiny electrical regions, or domains, in a quantum material, demonstrating light's ability to tune a material's electrical order. The work was reported by Phys.org on October 15, 2026.
Colorbiotics' GEM Vision system uses dynamic laser scanning to measure the volume of aggregate on conveyor belts in real time, bringing greater metering accuracy to construction materials production.
Researchers have developed an integrated Brillouin laser ring gyroscope capable of measuring rotation rates as low as 37 degrees per hour.
A team from UC Santa Barbara and Caltech published in Optics Letters a chip-scale optical ring laser gyroscope capable of measuring rotations as slow as 37 degrees per hour, approaching Earth's rotation rate of 15 degrees per hour. The device is based on a low-noise Brillouin laser in a silicon nitride waveguide photonic integrated circuit, can be fabricated with standard CMOS processes, requires only milliwatt-level optical power, and offers nearly 2,000-fold higher sensitivity than the team's earlier device.
Why we recommend it: Compared with the team's earlier silicon nitride Brillouin gyroscope rated at 72,000 degrees per hour, this is nearly a 2,000-fold improvement, helping gauge how far on-chip optical gyroscopes are from navigation applications.
A team led by the University of Central Florida (UCF) will receive a five-year, $19.2 million grant from the US Army Research Office to study light propagation and control in complex dynamic environments. The project, led by Guifang Li, will explore weak backscattering coherent measurement, inverse methods, AI analysis and multi-plane light conversion, with the goal of measuring and rapidly correcting light field distortions when remote sensors or beacons cannot be placed. Potential applications include directed-energy systems, biological tissue imaging, laser medicine, remote sensing and free-space optical communications.
ASML said its existing 2027 and 2028 supply plans cannot fully meet customer demand and that it is studying a further expansion of 2028 capacity beyond the previously planned 30% increase. Quarterly sales through September 27 were EUR 11.7 billion, up more than 50% year over year. The NXE:3800F EUV lithography system slated for introduction next year will raise productivity from 230 to 260 wafers per hour.
Why we recommend it: Capacity expansion and productivity upgrades are proceeding in parallel, offering concrete industry clues on how AI demand translates into EUV lithography equipment supply constraints.
A Laser Focus World article weighs building a laser beam analysis solution against buying one, noting that although high-quality cameras and low-cost computing are widely available and a home-built beam profiler may seem simple, 11 factors need to be considered in practice.
Researchers at the University of Jena and the University of Regensburg have used ultrashort laser pulses and nonlinear optical methods to probe the quantum geometric properties of electrons in solids.
In June 2026, Hisense Group strategically acquired a long-established fiber laser company and renamed it Haipulin. Four months later, Haipulin presented a full range of laser cutting, welding, cladding, and 3D printing solutions at the China International Industry Fair, focusing on new energy, aerospace, steel structures, and marine engineering.
Jiate Laser held a themed presentation on the first day of CIIF2026 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai and gave the first physical demonstration of its Fengqing Pro bevel high-speed laser cutting machine.
Scientists in the United States and New Zealand have demonstrated a new type of frequency comb based on a dual-pump laser, using a self-alignment mechanism that could move frequency comb technology from niche use toward broader applications. Miro Erkintalo of the University of Auckland participated in the research.
Why we recommend it: The source article explains the combination of dual pumping and self-alignment, offering a useful reference for simplifying frequency comb devices
An article by OFweek Laser notes that in 2025 Maxphotonics became the first company worldwide to ship 10,000 10 kW-class fiber lasers. Drawing on observations from the Shanghai industry fair, the article discusses how 10 kW lasers can sustain growth as the fiber laser industry shifts from price wars to competition on new fronts.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a laser-generated tunable plasma beam that resembles a lightsaber and can serve as a radio antenna, changing antenna size and direction for flexible radio systems.
A Laser Focus World article notes that fusion research has shifted toward private investment over the past five years after more than 60 years of public funding. The article examines whether high-power laser diodes are ready to drive inertial fusion energy (IFE).
TRUMPF will showcase its TruMicro series of ultrafast lasers and applications at Wesemibay 2026 from October 14 to 16, highlighting ultraviolet femtosecond lasers, energy output control, and a scalable platform. The series has been certified for volume production by several leading display and semiconductor manufacturers.
Wavelength Optoelectronics announced on the evening of October 8 that it had received an indictment from the Third Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate. After concluding its investigation, the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Shanghai Customs transferred the case for prosecution, alleging that the company and four defendants, including Huang Shengdi, smuggled goods banned from import and export by the state. The amount involved is CNY 20.1085 million.
Lumentum CEO Michael Hurlston said in an interview in Tokyo that about 70% of demand for some products will remain unmet next year, while other products still face a 30% demand gap through 2028. The company's 2029 capacity is almost fully booked, and it is ramping production at full speed.
Why we recommend it: The article provides specific demand gap percentages, directly reflecting the tightness of laser chips upstream in AI optical communications
Ziwei Yang and colleagues at the ARC Centre for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems at the Australian National University demonstrated a method of controlling nonlinear optical metasurface functionality with light, changing the traditional situation in which nonlinear metasurface functions are fixed after fabrication.
Why we recommend it: The article explains the approach of dynamically switching metasurface functions with light, offering reference value for reconfigurable meta-optics
Nature Photonics published a paper online on October 9 in which researchers modulated population transfer in helium atoms from the ground state to the metastable state by controlling the phase of interfering stimulated Raman pathways in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) region.
An article by Haitun Jun continues the breakdown of Lumentum: EML secures the core profit base of pluggable optical transceivers, while high-power discrete lasers, UHP CW, bet on next-generation CPO/NPO architectures. With supply and demand severely mismatched for high-end laser chips, leading manufacturers with in-house capacity simultaneously benefit from price increases, long-term orders and rising gross margins.
A paper in Optica reports a wide-field coherent multidimensional spectroscopy microscope (2DESM) that uses ultrashort laser pulses to map the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of electron interactions in thin materials.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego demonstrated a new method for switching magnetic information in a material using specially designed ultrafast laser beams, without an external magnetic field.
Why we recommend it: The original article demonstrates the use of structured light in all-optical magnetic storage, relevant to light-controlled magnetic recording
A paper in ACS Nano uses X-ray techniques to observe in real time the structural response of a quantum material after ultrafast laser pulses strike a crystal. Fabricating quantum devices often begins with deliberately damaging a crystal using ultrafast lasers, and this method could help clarify that process.
Researchers have demonstrated a new chip-scale optical frequency comb formation process in which two laser beams interact, enabling a range of precision measurements and showing potential for use in portable atomic clocks.
Why we recommend it: The original article explains the path from chip-based frequency combs to portable timekeeping, serving as a reference for integrated photonic precision measurement
A Laser Focus World article covers the key process parameters for laser welding of Nitinol, including shielding gas delivery, heat control and post-weld treatment, along with methods for evaluating weld quality.
Researchers have demonstrated an antenna that uses a laser-generated plasma filament to emit radio waves; the related paper is titled "Laser-Induced-Plasma-Filament" antenna research.
Researchers irradiate a large-area suspended thin film with an intense laser to induce a propagating electrostatic wave, letting protons surf it to higher energies under long-pulse laser conditions.
Researchers at EPFL have developed a photonic integrated, infinite self-injection-locked laser that remains locked without active control and has been packaged in a fiber-coupled standard butterfly package.
Why we recommend it: The original article presents an integrated narrow-linewidth laser that can be packaged directly, relevant to simplifying laser sources in optical communications and sensing
Researchers used an interferometer to split a laser into two beams of different colors and overlapped them in a vacuum chamber to form a 3D light field, which was used to manipulate electrons and drive them into quantum states that had previously been inaccessible experimentally.
A team at DTU Electro in Denmark has made progress on ultralow-noise supercontinuum lasers, using heat treatment of the fiber to nearly double the spectral range compared with similar low-noise sources.
Why we recommend it: The original paper presents a simple fiber post-processing method that is useful for supercontinuum light source design
A research team used a laser to generate an artificial particle beam dominated by muons and captured the first shadow image of a stack of lead bricks, offering muon imaging a more controllable source than cosmic rays.
The Joint Laboratory for High Power Laser and Physics at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) has proposed a laser spot analysis system based on an improved YOLOv8-seg to meet the need for rapid, precise alignment of optics along the full chain of high-power laser facilities, and has completed experimental validation.
Why we recommend it: The original paper demonstrates a deep learning segmentation model for laser facility alignment, a case of AI entering optical assembly and adjustment
Researcher Tian Ye and Academician Li Ruxin at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), together with Researcher Pan Yiming at ShanghaiTech University and colleagues, have proposed a new mechanism that uses the quadratic phase accumulated during the propagation of free-electron quantum wave packets to simultaneously achieve selectable high-harmonic bunching and synthesis of nonclassical quantum light, linking quantum state control, high-harmonic radiation and quantum light synthesis.
Why we recommend it: The original paper proposes a unified framework for free-electron lasers and quantum light sources, relevant to novel light source research
Researchers at the Joint Laboratory for High Power Laser Physics at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics studied the internal dynamics of spatiotemporal optical vortex strings, uncovering phenomena such as spatiotemporal attraction and filamentation stretching. The results were published as "Probing Internal Dynamics of Spatiotemporal Optical Vortex Strings".
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.
On September 10, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the registration of a public share offering by Jinan Senfeng Laser Technology to unspecified qualified investors. The approval was disclosed on September 24, marking progress in the company's review and registration for a Beijing Stock Exchange listing. Senfeng Laser was founded in 2007.