Sensores

Dutch quantum computing company QphoX has raised an €8 million ($8.7 million) funding round. The investment is reportedly the largest made in a quantum company in the Netherlands to date. QPhox is developing the core hardware required to allow quantum computers to communicate over an optical network. This will enable the scalability of large quantum computing systems within a data center, and ultimately form the backbone of the future quantum internet.

Since raising €2 million ($2.2 million) in 2021, QphoX has made significant advances in its technology, including recent developments that bring mature quantum computers within reach. QphoX's core technology centers on the ability to build devices that enable quantum...

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has published an implementation agreement (IA) for Common Electrical I/O (CEI) CEI-112G-XSR+-PAM4 Extended Extra Short Reach. According to Alphawave Semi's Matt Brown, who served as editor of the CEI-112G-XSR+-PAM4 IA, the agreement addresses a gap in OIF CEI specifications to cover new applications identified by OIF’s membership.

The agreement specifies a 112 Gb/s PAM4 electrical interface for die-to-die (D2D) and die-to-optical-engine (D2OE) interconnect with bump-to-bump insertion loss of up to 13 dB at the Nyquist frequency and baud rate in the range 36 to 58 Gsym/s. The intended applications encompass multiple-chip modules, co-packaged optics, and near-package optics assemblies. It...

Honeywell has closed a $300 million equity fundraising for integrated quantum computing company Quantinuum. The round closed at a pre-money valuation of $5 billion. Honeywell said that the financing is anchored by Quantinuum's strategic partner, JPMorgan Chase, with additional participation from Mitsui & Co., Amgen, and Honeywell itself, which remains the company's majority shareholder.

Quantinuum's technologies are used today by companies including Airbus, BMW Group, Honeywell, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Mitsui, and Thales. In collaboration, these organizations are exploring how to engineer and scale quantum capabilities to help solve problems — from designing and manufacturing hydrogen cell batteries for transportation to...

Technologies like integrated signal distributing, processing, and sensing networks require basic optical elements such as waveguides, splitters, gratings, and optical switches to be miniaturized. This poses challenges, especially for curved elements such as bends and ring resonators, which require an especially high resolution and lower sidewall roughness.

There are a number of methods to achieve subwavelength high-resolution manufacturing, though they tend to be costly, complex, and time-consuming. Nanoimprint lithography is promising as an approach to efficient high-resolution manufacturing, but it requires high-quality master stamps often produced with electron beam lithography.
An illustration of the UV-LED-based microscope...

With massive numbers of data points requiring real-time processing every day, limitations of cloud computing, including leaks, communications delays, slow speeds, and higher power consumption need to be addressed. Edge computing, which distributes computations to reduce load and speed processing, presents an alternative.

However, for effective edge computing, efficient and computationally cost-effective technology is needed. One promising option is reservoir computing, a computational method designed for processing signals that are recorded over time. It can transform these signals into complex patterns using reservoirs that respond nonlinearly to them.
The device consists of an Sn-doped In2O3 and Nb-doped SrTiO3 (ITO/Nb:STO; GND:...

Lynred, a provider of infrared detectors, has appointed Hervé Bouaziz as executive president and Xavier Caillouet as CEO. Bouaziz has 30 years’ aerospace, defense, and security experience and previously served as CEO for Europrop International and held several executive positions at Safran. Caillouet comes to Lynred following a 30-year career in international roles within various Thales divisions, including vice president of radiology at Thales and CEO of Trixell.

Ganesh Moorthy. Courtesy of Ayar. SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Ayar has added Ganesh Moorthy and Craig Barratt to its board of directors and Vladimir Stojanovic as its CTO. Moorthy currently serves as the president and CEO of Microchip Technology Inc. and is on...

Software technology company Synopsys has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ansys for approximately $35 billion. The acquisition adds Ansys’ broad simulation and analysis portfolio to Synopsys’s design automation technology. Both companies are active in the development of software for optical imaging, illumination, and automotive lighting design, among other applications.

Through the acquisition, Synopsys’ total addressable market is expected to increase by 1.5× to approximately $28 billion.

Ansys, a developer of end-to-end multiphysics and multiscale simulation platforms for optical technologies, has collaborated with Synopsys since 2017. Ansys' software tools allow designers to expedite...

Researchers from Peking University developed a high-efficiency ultrathin optical crystal based on boron nitride. According to Liu Kaihui, director of the Institute of Condensed Matter and Material Physics at Peking University, the research provides a brand-new design model and material system, opening avenues in basic optics theory, materials science, and potential technologies.

Due to the limitations of traditional theory models and material systems, existing crystals have struggled to meet the requirements for developing future laser devices, such as miniaturization, high integration, and functionalization.

Optical phase matching involves establishing a proper phase relationship between the fundamental excitation and...

Oxford Instruments has acquired specialist camera provider First Light Imaging. Following the acquisition, the company will become part of Oxford Instruments Andor, complementing the company’s existing scientific camera portfolio and enabling expansion into adjacent markets.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Oxford Instruments will pay an initial cash consideration of €15.7 million ($17.2 million), on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with a further €3 million cash consideration conditional on First Light’s trading performance over a 12-month period following completion.

The Oxford Instruments group comprises businesses including Andor Technology, Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology, and WITec. Its...

Researchers have developed a technology that uses meta-optical devices to perform thermal imaging. The approach captures richer information about imaged objects, including spectral and polarization details, which could broaden the use of thermal imaging in fields such as autonomous navigation, security, thermography, medical imaging, and remote sensing.

According to research team leader Zubin Jacob, the method is able to overcome limitations of traditional spectral imagers, which are often bulky and fragile due to their reliance on large filter wheels or interferometers. “We combined meta-optical devices and cutting-edge computational imaging algorithms to create a system that is both compact and robust while also having a...

The process of 4D printing is an extension of 3D printing, in which solid objects are created using materials that can change shape when exposed to certain stimuli like heat, water, or light.

At the University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), researchers have printed 4D structures using liquid metal polymers that can be coaxed into performing a range of mechanical tasks with infrared lasers.
AIBN researchers Ruirui Qiao (left) and Liwen Zhang have developed a new method to prepare liquid metal polymers for 4D printing. The solid 4D structures created by their lab can be manipulated into different shapes with an infrared laser. Courtesy of AIBN.
Lead researchers Liwen Zhang...

ABB, a leader in electrification and automation technology, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Canadian-based Real Tech, a supplier of optical sensor technology that enables real-time water monitoring and testing. Real Tech has more than 10,000 installed solutions in municipal water and wastewater, along with other industries, and will add to ABB’s presence in the water management segment. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2024. The financial terms were not disclosed.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — Kopin Corporation, a provider of micro-displays and optical solutions, has received a $20.5 million contract to provide a new thermal weapon sight eyepiece configuration for a Department of Defense prime...

The Consumer Electronics Show, the flagship event of the Consumer Technology Association, opened its doors Tuesday. The annual show, which showcases the latest innovations and developments in consumer technology, concludes today. Photonics Media has tracked this year’s product demonstrations, partnerships, and photonics industry news.

Kopin Corporation, a provider of optical systems and micro-displays, has partnered with MICLEDI Microdisplays, a fabless semiconductor design and technology company developing microLED displays, to design, develop and manufacture advanced microLED displays for AR technology in high brightness condition. The program will leverage MICLEDI’s CMOS production flow and Kopin’s backplane...

AMS Technologies, a provider of lasers, optical components, lighting, power technologies, and thermal management systems, has enhanced its high-power laser engineering capabilities with the acquisition of neoLASE, a developer of high-brilliance, diode-pumped, solid-state (DPSS) lasers.
(From left) Philipp Weber, CFO and COO of AMS Technologies; Maik Frede, founder and managing director of neoLASE and vice president of engineering at AMS Technologies; and Jan Meise, CEO of AMS Technologies. Courtesy of AMS Technologies. neoLASE, a 2007 spin-out of Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.’s laser development department, additionally offers master oscillator power amplifier systems from nano- to femtosecond pulse durations.

Per the deal,...

SPIE’s Awards Committee has named the recipients of its annual awards, recognizing achievements in photonics research, education, industry, and community leadership. The awards span a broad range of technical and professional areas, including medicine, metamaterials, moiré photonics, liquid crystals, attoscience, and nanophotonics.

Katie Schwertz is the 2024 recipient of the SPIE President’s Award. Courtesy of SPIE. Among the winners are 2023 Nobel Prize recipient Anne L’Huillier, who received the SPIE Maiman Laser Award; Ji-Xin Cheng, recipient of the Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award; and Teri W. Odom, who received the SPIE Mozi Award.

Akhlesh Lakhtakia is the recipient of the SPIE Gold Medal...

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has agreed to acquire AI networking, cloud, and connected security solutions leader Juniper Networks. The all-cash acquisition, worth $40.00 per share, carries an equity value of approximately $14 billion.

HPE expects that the deal will double its networking business and support both companies’ efforts in AI and cloud technology. The combined company will offer secure, end-to-end AI-native solutions built on the foundation of cloud, high performance, and experience-first, and will also have the ability to collect, analyze, and act on aggregated telemetry across a broader installed base.

Upon completion of the transaction, Juniper CEO Rami Rahim will lead the combined HPE networking...

Innoviz Technologies Ltd. added Stefan Jacoby and Alexander von Witzleben to its board of directors. Jacoby is the former executive vice president and head of international operations at General Motors and served as CEO and vice president of other automotive companies, including Mitsubishi, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo. Witzleben most recently served as CEO of Arbonia AG and has CEO-level experience at Feintool International and Jenoptik.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Industrial technology company Enpro Inc. appointed Joe Bruderek CFO effective April 1, following the retirement of J. Milton Childress II. Bruderek serves as Enrpo's executive vice president of finance. Prior to joining Enpro, Bruderek served as vice president of commodities...

An optical plasmonic tweezer-controlled surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) platform developed by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) enables efficient, high-throughput, single-molecule characterization in solution. It has the potential to uncover hidden molecular mechanisms that can affect the health of people living with type 2 diabetes.

Existing single-molecule approaches are limited to ultra-dilution or molecular immobilization because their diffraction-limited detection volume cannot be further reduced. These methods hinder the ability to study the dynamic actions of these molecules, necessitating the development of advanced single-molecule methods.

In a recent breakthrough, the research team led...