Credit: TOPTICA Photonics
FIGURE 1. Illustration of tunable diode lasers and adjacent technologies manufactured by TOPTICA Photonics for quantum applications, along with wavelength coverage and available output powers.
By leveraging tunable diode lasers and a synergetic combination of public and private investments and partnerships, the industry can speed development and adoption of photonic...
Credit: KAIST
(L-R) Junyong Choi, Woonsong Jeong, Jungwon Kim, and Jihoon Baek inside the antenna receiver room at KVN Pyeongchang radio telescope.
© Endeavor Business Media
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Credit: Bernard Lee
FIGURE 1. Drivers of the optical network evolution.
Credit: Asih Wahyuni (Vecteezy)
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Learning Resources

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Sponsored
Explore how deep learning is transforming computational microscopy—from virtual histological staining to fast, low‑cost sensing. See how AI is redefining biomedical imaging. Register...
March 26, 2026
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A Fixed Focal Length Lens Solution for Helicopter Aerial Photography Lens
When aircraft such as helicopters or drones operate in turbulent, vibration-rich environments, capturing sharp, stable, high-resolution images becomes a true test of optical engineering...
Dec. 5, 2025
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Discover how to design and analyze sophisticated optical waveguides using COMSOL Multiphysics® in this hands-on webinar. Learn how to build complex structures, evaluate mode fields...
Jan. 29, 2026
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Sponsored
Ultrafast lasers enable rapid cancer diagnosis with simultaneous two- and three-photon imaging.
Oct. 15, 2025

Podcast

Lasers/Sources

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LFW’s editorial board shares their quick thoughts about the most intriguing things they saw happen within the optics/photonics/quantum realm in 2025, as well as emerging trends...
Dec. 26, 2025
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Here's a look back at the 10 most-popular articles we published in 2025.
Dec. 22, 2025
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Laser Focus World announces the winners of its 2025 annual Innovators Awards program.
Dec. 17, 2025
Credit: University of Applied Sciences Biberach (https://p-inst.com/life-science)
Widefield microscope image of a DAPI-stained mouse head; sagittal plane: 4x, 0.2 NA.
Recent advances in photonics are revolutionizing life sciences by enabling unprecedented precision for imaging, surgical procedures, and diagnostics.
Dec. 17, 2025

Optics

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Episode 86 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Mario Paniccia, CEO and cofounder of silicon photonics startup ANELLO Photonics.
Jan. 13, 2026
Credit: Yufeng Zhang
Yufeng Zhang in the team's lab.
An international team of researchers demonstrates single-shot tensor computing—at the speed of light—and opens the door to next-gen AI hardware powered by optical computation....
Jan. 8, 2026
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Episode 85 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Craig Bandes, president and CEO of Pixelligent Technologies.
Jan. 6, 2026
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Precision optics maker Omega Optical announced the passing of its founder Bob Johnson.
Jan. 5, 2026

Quantum

Credit: Purdue University/Kevin Crisp
Professor Vladimir Shalaev with the team’s optical setup. Credit: Purdue University/Kevin Crisp
Purdue University researchers demonstrate a photonic transistor at single-photon intensities—and solve a long-standing roadblock to photonic computing.
Dec. 19, 2025
Credit: Alex Demkov
A 200-mm barium titanate (BaTiO3) wafer from La Luce Cristallina.
AI, quantum computing, and ultralow-power networking are poised to transform the technology ecosystem, and barium titanate offers a pathway to industrial scalability.
Dec. 18, 2025
Credit: Photonic Inc.
Silicon T center structure.
Scaling “up and out” is driving a wave of innovation in quantum photonics because the interplay between qubit platforms and photonic integration is central to system design.
Dec. 15, 2025
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Episode 76 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Dr. Tara Fortier, a project leader in the Time and Frequency Division at NIST.
Nov. 4, 2025

Test/Measurement

Credit: Capt. Ray Jourdain, Ice Pilots, Canada
FIGURE 1. Icing accumulating on deck due to prow spray.
Work is underway to develop a standardized sea spray LiDAR system that works with artificial intelligence to deliver real-time data and early warnings to shipmasters about icing...
Dec. 11, 2025
Credit: North Carolina State University
The new spectrometer is just a few square millimeters in size, but sensitive enough to accurately measure a broader range of wavelengths than is currently possible with conventional technologies.
A miniature spectrometer that could fit onto a smartphone shows promise for a wide range of applications—from biomedical diagnostics to manufacturing.
Dec. 5, 2025
Credit: Enablence Technologies
FIGURE 1. Flash (a) vs. scan (b) LiDAR.
Solid-state frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR systems integrate scanning, modulation, and detection directly into a single device—and it’s why costs are dropping...
Nov. 28, 2025
False color picture of the watermark of a €20 bank note, showing the amplitude of the transmitted terahertz electrical field signal with varying optical parameters of the material; the highest amplitude is shown in red, and the lowest in blue. The image was recorded by Menlo Systems’ TERA K15 THz-TDS system with TERA Image imaging extension unit and ImageLab processing software.
Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy has undergone a quiet evolution and is now moving from research labs onto production lines.
Oct. 30, 2025

Detectors/Imaging

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Episode 80 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Part Two of our interview with Dr. Aydogan Ozcan, Chancellor's Professor at UCLA and HHMI Professor at Howard...
Dec. 2, 2025
Credit: Champalimaud Foundation
The team’s AI-assisted autofluorescence lifetime imaging setup accurately differentiates malignant from benign tissue in real time.
With its ability to accurately differentiate malignant from benign tissue in real time, an AI-assisted autofluorescence lifetime imaging technique is poised to help improve cancer...
Nov. 27, 2025
Credit: Mikael Nyberg
Part of the team’s reflectivity k-space setup. Credit: Mikael Nyberg
You bet—and these photodiodes provide tunability and record-level sensitivity for ultrathin devices.
Nov. 26, 2025
Credit: Vincenzo Pecunia
Credit: Vincenzo Pecunia
Photodetectors are evolving and diversifying so rapidly that a team of academia and industry photonics experts created “Consensus Statement” guidelines to consistently measure...
Nov. 20, 2025

Executive Forum

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Jan. 13, 2026
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Dec. 23, 2025
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Dec. 16, 2025
Credit: CCraft
Processing of lithium niobate wafers.
Dec. 8, 2025