Advances in new materials, devices, architectures and processes accompanied by clear data.
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.
Fujia Gallium is developing 12-inch gallium oxide MOCVD epitaxy, extending its 8-inch process to 12 inches, a global first.
Collaborative research between China and Japan has delivered an optical breakthrough for AR glasses, so the lenses no longer look like dark sunglasses.
Space-grade radiation-hardened erbium-doped fiber developed by teams led by Hou Chaoqi and Guo Haitao at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics has completed stable on-orbit verification for spaceborne laser communication.
Why we recommend it: The original article provides specific data and details that help assess the actual progress in this direction.
Guo Haitao's team at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Mechanics has mastered key full-chain technologies for mid- and long-wave infrared anti-resonant hollow-core fiber.
Why we recommend it: The original text provides specific data and details that help assess actual progress in this direction.
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.