Sensores

Celestial AI, a developer of optical computing technologies, has raised $250 million in a series C funding round. The capital will help the company commercialize its Photonic Fabric technology platform.

Celestial AI’s Photonic Fabric optical connectivity solution enables the disaggregation of compute and memory, which allows each component to be effectively leveraged and scaled. The technology delivers over 25× greater bandwidth and memory capacity while reducing latency and power consumption by up to 10× compared to existing optical interconnect alternatives and copper, according to the company.

“Cluster sizes must scale from a few AI processors in a server to tens of processors in a single rack and...

Automated test equipment and robotics company Teradyne has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Quantifi Photonics, a provider of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) testing. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Following the acquisition, Teradyne intends to accelerate the development of cost-effective, high-throughput test solutions for wafer-level, die/multi-die and co-packaged optical module testing, according to company CEO Greg Smith. In addition to delivering scalable solutions for PICs testing, Quantifi Photonics provides test solutions targeting scalable and cost-effective high-volume manufacturing of co-packaged and pluggable optics.
___[---MARKETPLACECATS---]___Teradyne's solutions serve the semiconductor,...

Lightweight, flexible, and eco-friendly, OLEDs are reshaping the lighting industry with innovative illumination solutions and high-definition displays. However, they continue to be slow at converting electric current into light. Only 25% of the electronic states of organic molecules can emit light upon electrical excitation, which limits the overall efficiency of OLEDs. With only a 25% probability of emitting photons efficiently and rapidly, OLEDs tend to be dimmer than other lighting technologies.

To map out a potential solution to OLED inefficiency, researchers at the University of Turku and Cornell University developed a theoretical model predicting that the brightness of OLEDs can be increased by fine-tuning polaritons.

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Lightwave Logic, a developer of electro-optic (EO) polymer technology, has advanced its technical collaboration with Polariton Technologies, a manufacturer of high-speed EO components for the communication market. The companies will jointly develop solutions to hasten the adoption and integration of combined plasmonics and polymer-based products, with semiconductor fabrication plants, outsourced assembly, and test operations.

In addition to manufacturing transmitter photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with increased EO performance, the teams will collaborate on an extensive qualification and reliability program, high-speed radio frequency and optical testing, and back-end manufacturing process integration.
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Quantum information processing relies on the entanglement of multiple photons to process vast amounts of information. However, creating multiphoton entanglement is a challenging task. Traditional methods either use quantum nonlinear optical processes, which are inefficient for large numbers of photons, or linear beam-splitting and quantum interference, which require complex setups prone to issues like loss and crosstalk.

Researchers from Peking University, Southern University of Science and Technology, and the University of Science and Technology of China have presented a different approach using metasurfaces. The approach allows for the generation of multiphoton entanglement on a single metasurface, simultaneously simplifying the...

A multilevel diffractive lens from the University of Utah could serve as a lightweight alternative to conventional refractive systems for long-range imaging. The large-aperture flat lens focuses light as effectively as traditional curved lenses and captures color accurately. Astrophotography imaging systems could use the lens to acquire images in applications where space is at a premium, such as on aircraft, satellites, and space-based telescopes.

The researchers used a computational framework to design and test the lens. “Our computational techniques suggested we could design multilevel diffractive flat lenses with large apertures that could focus light across the visible spectrum,” professor Rajesh Menon said.

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Callista Private Equity has acquired Carl Zeiss Automated Inspection GmbH from the ZEISS Group.The acquired company will operate under the name Newston Automated Solutions GmbH. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Based in Neuenstein, Germany, Newston Automated Solutions specializes in the development and installation of automated inline measurement systems in the production lines of automotive OEMs. In addition, the sensor technology used supports the digitalization of the production process and enables the creation of digital twins of each vehicle produced. Parts of the sensors installed by the company will continue to be sourced from ZEISS.

“The aim is to utilize and further expand Newston’s excellent market...

Teams from the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, both in Germany, are establishing infrastructure to monitor oceans via systems that use optical fiber. Funded with €30 million ($32 million) from the Helmholtz Association, the SMART Cables And Fiber-optic Sensing Amphibious Demonstrator (SAFAtor) project seeks to unlock previously inaccessible data on climate and geological hazards.

The initial plan, according to the partners, is to equip a demonstrator with appropriate sensor technology before deploying it into the deep sea. The worldwide network of telecommunications cables lying on the bottom of the world's oceans offers distinct potential for scientific...

Suniva, a manufacturer of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells and Heliene, a solar photovoltaic module manufacturer, have established a deal with Corning Inc. to provide the U.S. domestic market with a solar module made with polysilicon, wafers, and cells manufactured in the U.S.

Corning is supplying the wafers and, as the majority owner of Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC), sourcing hyper-pure polysilicon for the initiative. Both the wafers and polysilicon are made in Michigan, and the solar cells are made in Georgia. The new module contains a solar cell with up to 66% domestic content, the highest percentage available, according to the collaborators.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded BAE Systems $151 million to build upon Phase 1 of the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) Command and Control (C2) prototyping effort to deliver a prototype ready for the Space Systems Command’s Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system. FORGE C2’s purpose is to bolster Space Systems Command’s missile warning and tracking ground mission.

The Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center mission control station where programs like Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution are used. Courtesy of the U.S. Space Force. QUEBEC CITY — Laserax, an advanced laser solutions company, has acquired DPSS Lasers Inc., a manufacturer of 355 nm UV...

Label-free imaging using two-photon autofluorescence of reduced form nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, or NAD(P)H, provides nondestructive, high-resolution, 3D visualization of cellular activities in living systems. Due to light scattering, however, this imaging technique typically can only penetrate as far as 300 μm into living tissues.

To enable deep imaging of thick tissues, researchers at MIT implemented multimode fiber-based, three-photon excitation of NAD(P)H with a low repetition rate and high peak power. They used living, engineered, human multicellular microtissues as test samples.

With this approach, the researchers more than doubled the standard depth limit of NAD(P)H imaging, extending it beyond 700...

A collaboration between Kalpana Systems, HyETSolar, and TNO aims to advance the commercialization of perovskite solar cells. The Perovision Project partners' undertaking is to optimize nickel oxide (NiOx) layers for perovskite solar cells using atomic layer deposition (ALD).

The goal of the Perovision Project is the development of a pilot-scale spatial ALD process for NiOx layers in a perovskite solar cell. NiOx can improve the efficiency, reliability, and stability of perovskite solar cells but is difficult to produce with high quality at an industrial scale. Spatial ALD enables the deposition of NiOx with atomic precision at high throughput.

This combination of precision and speed is crucial for commercial viability, ensuring...

Germany is funding a research project to develop new types of high-performance mirrors for laser fusion applications. Called SHARP, for Scalable Highpower Reflectors for Petawatts, the three-year project has a budget of €10.4 million ($11.2 million), with €8.4 million coming from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The project seeks to create highly reflective and thermally stable mirror systems that meet the needs of future petawatt laser fusion reactors. To this end, the project will explore large-area and internally cooled high-performance optical mirror systems.
A researcher holds a highly reflective mirror for laser applications. Under the SHARP project, the technology will be optimized for laser...

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) concluded its Q1 2025 Technical and MA&E Committees Member Meeting with the launch of a high-density connector project as well as a new common management interface specification (CMIS) implementation agreement (IA).

The project will address current optical module electrical connector limitations in signal integrity, bandwidth density, power distribution, and control connections. The high-density connector project will produce a requirements document that addresses existing constraints and sets the stage for enhanced scalability and performance. OIF technical committee chair Karl Bois said that the project builds on work from the OIF Physical and Link Layer Working Group, which previously...

Aerosols can affect everything from severe weather to air quality. Polarimeters, which characterize aerosols and cloud particles by observing how they interact with light, are among the best tools scientists have to help develop their understanding of the role played by these tiny particles in atmospheric events.

Although there are many airborne polarimeters available to scientists, only a few of these instruments have ever flown in space. NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, launched in 2024, marked the first space-based science mission featuring polarimetry in over a decade.

“The composition of aerosols, the shape, the size – that's something that we really need to understand...

The stories that surround AI models trained on imprecise or incomplete language seem to follow a similar pattern. The model may show some initial degree of aptitude for the target task. Then over time, bias becomes apparent.

The silver lining is twofold. First, there is unanimous understanding that a more complete training leads to a more dependable model. And, in most cases, any of the would-be damage that a poorly or incompletely trained AI model might cause is identified well before the model sees use in the real world.

But there is no question that words matter when it comes to AI.

This notion occupies another context. Words such as “strain” and “burden” — insofar as they relate to the...

Quantum is still in its early days, but the technology has been heating up. During the last five years, companies such as Google, IBM, Honeywell, and Microsoft have developed quantum computers, and some now offer cloud quantum computing services. In 2021, the European Union (EU) launched the HPCQS project, which is aiming to integrate two quantum simulators — each capable of controlling more than 100 qubits — with two existing European Tier 0 supercomputers, located in France and Germany, by the end of 2025. Here, the broader objective was to provide noncommercial cloud access to public and private European users to solve complex challenges in areas such as materials and drug design, logistics, and transportation.

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Industrial manufacturing has long favored silicon carbide (SiC) for its utility as a cutting material, exhibiting exceptional hardness that resembles diamond at roughly half the cost. Other desirable qualities, including SiC’s mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, and low density, have steered the material into the field of optics to be used as a thin, lightweight, and stable coated optical mirror substrate for space applications.

More recently, SiC’s distinct electrical and mechanical properties have been applied to gain efficiencies and reduce costs for power electronics. When manufactured as a single crystal (with sufficient purity and doping), SiC delivers a wide bandgap, high critical electric fields, and thermal...

The name heart cockle, despite being wonderfully sophomoric, is apt for the Indo-Pacific native clam. The moniker goes beyond the mollusk’s heart-like shape: It just can’t help but fall head over shell for a certain microscopic alga in its native waters, with which it forms a symbiotic relationship. In return for a home that’s safe from most predators, the algae feed the host heart cockle with a sugary byproduct produced via photosynthesis.

Biologists and other experts in the field might take umbrage with this proposition, as photosynthesis generally needs the sun to make the arrangement work. The heart cockle presumably realized this too somewhere down its evolutionary ladder and so has evolved, developing natural...

Through its X Development LLC business, Google has introduced the Taara chip, a silicon photonic chip that uses light to transmit high-speed data through the air. A blog post published by Taara general manager Mahesh Krishnaswamy last week said that the company has demonstrated the transmission of data at 10 Gbps over distance of 1 km using two Taara chips.
Developed by Google’s X Development business, the Taara chip is capable of transmitting data at up to 20 Gbps over the air at distances up to 20 km. Courtesy of X Development. The device is the successor to the Taara Lightbridge, X Development’s first-generation system which used a system of mirrors, sensors, precision optics, and hardware to steer light. The technology...