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Xiaomi and Leica Camera AG have established the Xiaomi x Leica Optical Institute, which the companies plan to use to develop digital imaging and AI technologies for mobile imaging. The institute will lead to the design of ultra-precision optical lenses in a compact form factor, advance performance in computational photography, ensure adherence to optical standards for lenses, and conduct research and develop applications for optoelectronic technology.

Per the endeavor, Xiaomi and Leica have assembled a joint team of over 200 experts. Peter Karbe, the optical designer behind the fourth-generation lenses from Leica including designs like Noctilux and the APO series, will serve as optical expert. Zeng Xuezong, senior vice president of...

The U.S. Department of Commerce will provide $1.5 billion in planned direct funding for GlobalFoundries (GF) as part of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. GF plans to use the funds to expand its footprint in Malta and to modernize its facility in Essex Junction, Vt.

GF is the first semiconductor pure play foundry to receive a major award from the CHIPS and Science Act.

At its existing Malta, N.Y. fab, GF will add critical technologies already in production in GF’s Singapore and Germany facilities geared towards enabling the U.S. auto industry. The company will also construct a new state-of-art fab on the Malta campus to meet expected demand. The new fab has already been granted some necessary permits and will leverage...

Semiconductor technology company BluGlass Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tucson, Arizona-based directed energy and laser technology company Applied Energetics. Per the agreement, the companies will collaborate on next-generation military and commercial applications, leveraging BluGlass’ high-performance GaN distributed feedback (DFB) lasers in Applied Energetics’ advanced systems development.
BluGlass has informally partnered with Applied Energetics, a developer of directed energy and laser technology for defense and commercial markets. Courtesy of BluGlass. Through this collaboration the companies plan to develop solutions that address technology needs in emerging dual-use and national security...

Quantum experts from the EU’s Quantum Flagship initiative met with policymakers and representatives to present the Strategic Research and Industry Agenda SRIA 2030: Roadmap and Quantum Ambitions over this Decade. Themes in the roadmap include economic and technological sovereignty with calls to strengthen the EU’s role as a global player in quantum technology.

The document outlines a strategy for Europe to build an autonomous ecosystem for scientific and industrial applications in the quantum space, with thousands of researchers, a robust workforce, and the highest level of public funding for quantum technologies in the world, according to Quantum Flagship.

Coordinated by the French Atomic Energy and Alternative...

Motorola Solutions has acquired specialized long range camera provider Silent Sentinel. The acquisition compliments Motorola Solutions’ portfolio of fixed video cameras and expands its footprint with government and critical infrastructures, while strengthening its position as a provider of end-to-end video security solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Silent Sentinel’s rugged, thermal cameras offer clear visibility in the complex and extreme environments associated with military, aviation, maritime, and critical infrastructure. Equipped with highly accurate detection capabilities in the long- and mid-wave infrared regions, Silent Sentinel’s cameras can identify anomalies from up to 30 km miles...

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has awarded $20 million to Chao Zhou, a professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, to support the development of a portable OCT system. The solution could offer advanced eye screenings to many more patients at lower costs. Additionally, the technology could be used in other applications, including cardiology, dermatology, dentistry, endoscopy, and urology.

Zhou plans to build the portable system using a design based on PICs and custom-designed electronic integrated circuits (ICs). This, he said, will simplify the assembly process and lower production costs, making OCT more accessible to a wider range of...

BluGlass Limited, a semiconductor developer, has received $4.3 million in commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors. The funds will be used to scale and speed production and delivery of BluGlass’ visible lasers to fulfil new and existing contracts. The funds will also support the acquisition of additional fabrication equipment, working capital, and development of products to increase market competitiveness and sales.

Amazec Photonics' €1.5 million seed round will go to developing cardiovascular monitoring tools. Courtesy of PhotonDelta. OUDKARSPEL, The Netherlands — Medtech company Amazec Photonics has secured a €1.5 million ($1.6 million) seed round to develop its minimally invasive diagnosis...

Researchers from ICFO have introduced a type of polaritonic cavity which redefines the limits of light confinement. The work demonstrates an unconventional way of confining photons, overcoming traditional limits in nanophotonics.

Confining photons to increasingly small volumes has long been an area of interest for physicists. The natural length scale of the photon is the wavelength and when a photon is forced into a cavity much smaller than the wavelength, it effectively becomes more “concentrated.” This concentration enhances interactions with electrons, amplifying quantum processes within the cavity.
Researchers have developed nanocavities that enable deep subwavelength volume and extended lifetime using an...

Multiverse Computing, a developer of value-based quantum computing solutions, and Single Quantum, a provider of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors, launched an industrial materials science R&D project under a $1.4 million contract with the German Aerospace Center (DLR)’s Quantum Computing Initiative (DLR QCI).

Under the contract, Multiverse Computing and Single Quantum will use quantum simulation to improve the superconducting film that allows the hardware to detect photons. The quantum companies won funding through a competitive bidding process to use quantum simulation to improve the transmission capabilities of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. These detectors are essential for quantum...

A new, spiral-shaped lens could make consistently clear vision possible for people with lens implants or age-related farsightedness. The spiral diopter works similarly to progressive lenses used for vision correction, while foregoing the often-found distortions. Its spiral shape creates many separate points of focus, allowing the user to see clearly at different distances and in various light conditions.

In addition to advancing contact lens technologies and intraocular implants for cataracts, the spiral diopter lens could be used to miniaturize imaging systems while maintaining their optical quality.

According to the researchers, the spiral diopter lenses are superior to conventional trifocal lenses at larger apertures for...

Organic-based optoelectronics have the potential to provide an energy-efficient way to operate low-power indoor devices and wireless IoT sensors. Organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) and organic photodetectors (OPDs) show exceptional promise for powering indoor electronic devices sustainably. However, the manufacturing processes for standalone OPVs and OPDs can be complex and costly, resulting in high production costs and limited scalability.

OPVs can absorb energy and generate electricity, even under very low light conditions, while OPDs are able to acquire images. So far, the independent development paths for OPVs and OPDs have kept them from achieving the level of efficiency necessary for practical use in next-generation,...

Sivers Semiconductors AB, an integrated chips company, has nominated Bami Bastani to become chairman of its board of directors. Bastani was also appointed as executive chairman of Sivers’ U.S. subsidiary, Sivers Semiconductors Inc. He previously served as strategic advisor to the company's board and management team and, held president, CEO, and board member positions at Meru Networks, Trident Microsystems, and ANADIGICS.

WASHINGTON D.C. — Hyperspectral satellite company Kuva Space appointed Jerry Welsh to the board of its newly established U.S. subsidiary, Kuva Space US. Welsh is the former CEO of ICEYE US and served as a mentor for space and aerospace startups participating in the Techstars accelerator program.
Jerry...

Teledyne Technologies Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Adimec Holding B.V. and its subsidiaries. Adimec, headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, develops customized high-performance industrial and scientific cameras. The move, Teledyne said, adds products, technology, and customers in healthcare, defense, and semiconductor and electronics inspection from Adimec that are complementary to its existing portfolio.

Adimec has offices in Boston, Japan, and Shanghai and Shenzhen, China. The company spearheaded the development and adoption of the CoaXPress standard, forming the CoaXPress Consortium in 2009. The work earned a 2009 Vision Award for CoaXPress, and the format became a global standard in 2011 following endorsement...

An imaging system developed by researchers from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) captures the photoluminescence lifetimes of rare-earth doped nanoparticles in the micro- to millisecond range. The high-precision shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging technique paves the way for application in biomedical and information security where accuracy and dependability are essential.

Rare-earth doped nanoparticles (RENPs) possess unusual light-emitting properties that researchers find useful, like the ability to emit in the UV, visible, and SWIR ranges. The photoluminescence lifetime of RENPs has the advantage of being minimally affected by external conditions. As a result, measuring it through imaging provides data from...

Innovation Hub Lithuania (InnoHub Lithuania), a Silicon Valley site designed to serve as an economic bridge between high-tech Lithuanian companies, and research institutes, with American counterparts and customers, is the latest development set to boost Lithuania's optics and photonics sector. The hub, which launched earlier this month concurrent with Photonics West in San Francisco, will provide support to Lithuanian companies looking to establish partnerships by providing insight on legal and cultural differences for establishing contracts and marketing strategies, and market insights.

Neringa Morozaite-Rasmussen, Lithuania’s vice-minister of economy and innovation said that particularly for smaller companies, who may have...

The development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is an expensive and time-consuming process. Nanofabrication facilities cost millions of dollars to construct and are well beyond the reach of many colleges, universities, and research labs.

For those who can access a nanofabrication facility, at least a day must be reserved for the exacting and time-consuming lithographic process used to make these microchips. On top of that, if an error is made in design, or if the chip does not work properly for some other reason, the faulty circuit must be discarded, the design adjusted, and a new chip fabricated. This often results in days or even weeks spent in the cleanroom.

Researchers led by the University of Washington (UW) have...

Biofilms, slimy layers formed when bacteria stick together on a surface, allow bacteria to shield themselves from extreme environments. As sources of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, biofilms can cause serious issues in healthcare and other industries. Conversely, biofilms of harmless bacteria can be used to develop new biomaterials. The power to optically control biofilm formation could allow scientists to harness these microbial layers to develop and enhance bioengineering applications.

Researchers at California State University Northridge investigated the use of optical trapping to regulate bacterial aggregation and biofilm development. In the work, the team used lasers of varying wavelengths and determined which wavelengths support...

Representatives from the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES) visited the Fraunhofer Institute in Dresden, Germany to set concrete dates for a joint exchange in 2024. The meeting follows last year's signing of a memorandum of understanding between NY CREATES and the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems to collaborate on joint research projects, symposia, and workshops as well as promoting scientific exchanges.

From top: Lumicore’s production base in Nanjing, China and the company’s 1.32-in. micro-OLED. Courtesy of Lumicore. SHANGHAI — Micro-OLED display manufacturer Lumicore has closed a Series A funding round worth $100 million to help raise...

Seven quantum hardware companies have been awarded contracts to build a diverse range of quantum computing testbeds at the National Quantum Computing Centre facilities in Oxfordshire, England by March 2025.

The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition, delivered by Innovate UK, is providing £30 million ($37.8 million) funded through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund and the NQCC to accelerate the development of scalable quantum computing.

The winners are University of Sheffield spinout Aegiq; Infleqtion; ORCA Computing; Oxford Ionics; Quantum Motion; QuEra Computing; and Rigetti.
The National Quantum Computing Centre will be host to a range of quantum technology testbeds developed by quantum computing...

A new imaging technique could improve survival rates for pancreatic cancer by enabling physicians to detect the full extent of the disease for surgical intervention. The technique pairs a contrast agent with multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) to identify pancreatic cancer cells at the microscopic level, at approximately 10 times more magnitude than what is currently possible.

A research project led by Lacey McNally and Ajay Jain, MD, professors of surgery at the University of Oklahoma’s OU College of Medicine will investigate the technique's efficacy in evaluating the spread of pancreatic cancer. McNally and Jain received a $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to...