TDK's AR display solution uses a 150 nm thick meta-optic reflector in place of a conventional curved mirror, forming images through direct retinal projection (DRP). The reflective film has a visible-light transmittance of about 80%, and the current demonstration is still a monochrome prototype. Full-color demonstrations and mass production remain several years away, while consumer-level costs and processing yields are also key hurdles.
Why we recommend it: By comparing the optical paths of direct retinal projection with those of waveguides and BirdBath, this explains the role of TDK's planar meta-reflector and the constraints on full-color implementation and cost.
Oct 20Tue
Tuesday
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6363
Conant Optics supplies 23 lens SKUs each for the Qwen AI Glasses N1 and N1 Pro, and serves as a core supplier of plano and myopia prescription lenses. It is the exclusive supplier of 1.74 high-index lenses, high-value colorful lenses and smart photochromic lenses. In the first half of 2026, the company's XR business revenue reached about 50.5 million yuan, up about 15-fold year on year, with gross margin rising to 42.9 percent. Its Shanghai base plans to add four dedicated production lines for lens lamination and complete-unit packaging.
Why we recommend it: Looking at the lens packages, exclusive supply categories and changes in Conant's XR business revenue for the Qwen glasses shows how smart glasses mass production flows through to optics suppliers.
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6363
XGIMI and Dangbei have entered the AI glasses arena, and the article frames this as a business exploration under pressure in their core projector operations, drawing on their accumulated optical engine and microdisplay expertise. XGIMI MemoMind One began domestic pre-sales on October 15 at 2,294 yuan after the national subsidy; the AI note-taking glasses co-developed by Dangbei and DingTalk launched on October 13, priced from 1,299 yuan. Runto Technology notes that experience in optical engine miniaturization and image quality tuning can be reused, but near-eye imaging, wearable design, software ecosystems and eyewear retail channels remain real challenges.
Why we recommend it: Comparing market shifts and imaging constraints in projectors and smart glasses clarifies where optical engine capabilities can be transferred, and the gaps created by wearable design and software ecosystems.
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6262
In 2026, AI/AR glasses funding is tilting toward upstream waveguides and microdisplays, and the article argues that investment logic is shifting toward mass-production delivery and scarce capacity. According to incomplete statistics, as of October 2026 more than 37 funding rounds had been publicly disclosed across the domestic industry chain, with a total disclosed amount of about 9 billion yuan. Crystal Optech's C+ round exceeded 1 billion yuan, while MicroJewel Optoelectronics raised several hundred million yuan in a MicroLED Pre-A round.
Why we recommend it: Placing large funding rounds in waveguides and microdisplays alongside end-market sales pressure helps reveal the possible gap between capital investment and mass-production demand in the glasses industry.
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6868
Silicon carbide AR waveguides are moving toward wafer-level manufacturing and small-volume production, but low-cost, high-volume consumer shipments remain some way off. A recent preprint from the Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization, the Institute of Optoelectronics at Westlake University, and the Mude Micro-Nano team presents a full-color silicon carbide diffractive waveguide measuring 0.35 mm thick and weighing 1.98 g, with patterning of four pairs of lenses demonstrated on an 8-inch SiC wafer. The high refractive index helps widen the field of view and enable monolithic full color, but manufacturing challenges remain, including consistency of optical-grade substrates, micro- and nanofabrication of hard and brittle materials, and light leakage at packaging interfaces.
Why we recommend it: Starting from the field-of-view and monolithic full-color advantages of high refractive index, this article reviews the mass-production constraints of silicon carbide waveguides across substrates, micro- and nanofabrication, and packaging.
Oct 19Mon
Monday
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6868
SRG diffractive optical waveguides use four complementary pathways - nanoimprint, DUV lithography etching, SiC substrates and single-layer full color - to improve mass production, precision, field of view and image quality respectively. The article cites AAC Technologies' single-layer full-color SRG mass production yield of over 80%, a 52-degree FOV for the SiC solution, and the commissioning of Goertek Optics' 12-inch DUV lithography etching production line. Plans for million-unit-level capacity and ramp-up do not mean the industry as a whole has achieved stable million-unit-scale delivery; cost, yield and whole-device integration remain the next hurdles.
Why we recommend it: Discussing nanoimprint, DUV etching, SiC substrates and single-layer full color separately helps distinguish the constraints on waveguide mass production, precision, field of view and image quality.
Oct 16Fri
Friday
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6161
Shanghai Fanchuangwei Technology's high-transparency optical AR glasses lens project has settled in Huangyan, Taizhou, to be carried out in two phases by Fanke Technology (Taizhou), with total investment of about RMB 550 million. Phase one, at about RMB 150 million, plans to complete an innovation center and pilot production line by 2027. Phase two, at about RMB 400 million, targets annual output of 100 tonnes of high-purity silicon carbide optical material by 2028. Aimed at AI glasses and AR terminals, the project covers the full chain from optical materials and etching processes to optical devices.
Why we recommend it: The source gives the investment figures for both phases, production line timelines and a target of 100 tonnes of silicon carbide optical material per year, useful for gauging the pace of silicon carbide waveguide industrialization.
Sep 24Thu
Thursday
OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6161
At the 27th CIOE and SIVA 2026, the keywords for VR/AR optics centered on mass production, thin-and-light design, and color displays for AR glasses. The article summarizes show trends, noting that 4-inch, 6-inch and other semiconductor wafers were everywhere, serving as a way to demonstrate mass-production capability.
Why we recommend it: The original article summarizes the directions of multiple AR optics makers at the show, making it easy to compare the current state of the AR optics supply chain