LASER World of PHOTONICS

17/02/2026

Major Update for the Rulebook of Laser Physics! ✴️ 🌐 🆕

For decades, it's known that mirrors are essential. They bounce light, stimulate emission, and create the coherence we rely on. But what if the atoms could do the job themselves?

A team of physicists from the Universität Innsbruck 🇦🇹 and Harvard University 🇺🇸 has proposed a fundamentally new light source: The Mirrorless Laser.

How it works: By spacing quantum emitters at subwavelength distances, the atoms interact directly through their own electromagnetic dipole fields. When pumped, they lock together to radiate in unison—a phenomenon known as "superradiant emission."

Why this matters for the industry: 🔹 Ultra-compact design: No need for bulky optical cavities or mirrors. 🔹 Precision: Highly directional and spectrally pure light. 🔹 Next-Gen applications: From on-chip devices to exceptionally stable optical references for quantum sensors and clocks.

This discovery points toward a new class of nanophotonic light sources that could define the next decade of relevant industries.

A team of physicists from the University of Innsbruck and Harvard University has proposed a fundamentally new way to generate laser light: a laser without mirrors. Their study shows that quantum emitters spaced at subwavelength distances can constructively synchronize their photon emission to produc...

11/02/2026

Rewriting the Rules of Light: The Impact of AI on Photonics ✴️ 🌐 🤖
How machine learning is moving from experimental labs to the factory floor

Is AI in photonics just a trend? The data says otherwise: there is a fundamental shift in how optical data, optimize laser systems, and automate complex precision manufacturing are processed.

The integration of artificial intelligence is no longer an "add-on"—it is becoming the backbone of high-performance photonics. From predictive maintenance to real-time beam adjustment, the efficiency gains are too significant to ignore.

Read the full analysis on why AI is here to stay!

– Is your team already integrating AI into your workflows, or are you still in the testing phase?

Artificial intelligence is not a temporary project. It is here to stay. Experts advise companies to adapt their strategies to the new reality.

09/02/2026

Beyond Electronics: The 12.5 GHz Breakthrough in Optical Computing
The Next Era of Data Processing is––Photonic! ⚛️ 💻 📈

Researchers at Tsinghua University 🇨🇳 have unveiled an on-chip optical system that performs matrix-vector multiplications in a fraction of a nanosecond: the OFE2 (Optical Feature Extraction Engine) achieves a record-breaking latency of less than 250.5 ps.

By shifting heavy computational burdens to low-energy, ultrafast photonics, i.e. using light instead of electrons to extract data features, this system operates at higher speeds.

The impact: Photonics is becoming the engine behind the next generation of real-time decision-making – the ability to process data at the speed of light is no longer a concept.

✅ Faster edge detection in medical imaging (CT scans), and surgical robotics. ✅ Digital finance: Zero-latency feature extraction means real-time financial trading. ✅ More hybrid AI systems.

https://spie.org/news/beyond-electronics-harnessing-light-for-faster-computing

[Image: Hongwei Chen/ Tsinghua University - The proposed optical computing chip enables the high-speed, parallel processing for quantitative trading with unprecedented low latency, accelerating the crucial and demanding step of feature extraction.]

03/02/2026

Breaking the Diffraction Limit: The New Frontier of Optical Precision 🌌 🔭 💯
Using Advanced Photonic Waveguides to Achieve the Sharpest-Ever Stellar Measurements––
The boundaries of what can be seen in the universe have traditionally been limited by the size of our telescopes. But a UCLA-led team of astronomers just changed the game—not by building a bigger lens, but by applying cutting-edge photonics.
By ""hacking"" a single telescope with a device called a photonic lantern, researchers have achieved the sharpest-ever measurement of a star’s surrounding disk.

How does it work? Instead of traditional imaging, the photonic lantern splits collected light into multiple channels based on its spatial ""mode""—much like separating a musical chord into individual notes. By filtering out atmospheric noise and reassembling the data through computational techniques, the team can ""see"" details that were previously lost to turbulence.

Why this matters for our industry: This breakthrough is a prime example of astrophotonics in action. It demonstrates how: 🔹 Optical fibers and waveguides are evolving beyond telecommunications. 🔹 Adaptive optics and photonics can overcome physical diffraction limits. 🔹 Precision engineering is the key to solving the mysteries of the cosmos.

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/telescope-hack-peers-deeper-into-universe

[Image: Sébastien Vievard/ University of Hawaiʻi - The team in front of the Subaru Telescope base. Top L-R: Vincent Deo (Subaru Telescope), Manon Lallement (Paris Observatory/Subaru Telescope), Bottom L-R: Sébastien Vievard (University of Hawaiʻi/Subaru Telescope), Yoo Jung Kim (UCLA), Daniel Levinstein (UCI), Jon Lin (UCLA), Olivier Guyon (Subaru Telescope / University of Arizona).]

28/01/2026

Precision Photonics Just Got Affordable: Transforming Self-Driving Cars and Critical Gas Detection with Robust, Easy-to-Use Technology ✴️ 🎡 📉

The rules of laser technology are changing: Researchers at teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet NTNU - Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet 🇳🇴 and EPFL 🇨🇭 have unveiled a game-changing photonic integrated laser that is fast, highly precise, powerful, and designed for scalable mass production using existing chip technology. This innovation resolves decades-long challenges related to the size, cost, and complexity of high-performance lasers.

What does this mean for your industry? This breakthrough is enabling essential integration for mission-critical systems:
🚎 Autonomous mobility: Next-generation Lidar for self-driving vehicles, offering superior accuracy and affordability.
📡 Environmental sensing: High-precision detection of toxic gases (like hydrogen cyanide) in compact, field-ready instruments.
🌐 Communication: Boosting performance and efficiency in fiber-optic networks and data centers.

Ready to see the components driving tomorrow's autonomous, communication, and industrial systems? Join us at next Laser World of Photonics (June 22-25, 2027) to explore how miniaturized, high-performance lasers are opening up new markets and redefining what's possible in integrated photonics.

[Image: AI generated]

20/01/2026

Breaking the Barriers of Light: A New Era of Optical Thermodynamics ✴️

The way we route light is about to change forever. Traditionally, directing optical signals required complex switches, external controls, and digital addressing—adding latency and technical hurdles to high-speed computing.

A research team of USC Viterbi School of Engineering at University of Southern California has just demonstrated a game-changing solution: the first optical device based on optical thermodynamics.

Instead of fighting the "chaos" of nonlinear systems, this device harnesses it. By applying thermodynamic principles—similar to how gases reach equilibrium—light now finds its own path naturally. No switches. No external guidance. Just pure, self-organizing physics.

Why this matters for the industry:
🚀 Next-Gen computing: A massive leap for optical interconnects and chip designers .
⚡ Efficiency: Faster data processing with significantly reduced hardware complexity.
🌐 Telecommunications: A new framework for smarter, self-routing networks.

As we look toward the next generation of photonic innovation, breakthroughs like these remind us that the most elegant solutions are often found in the laws of nature itself.

Innovation could help chips process information more efficiently

13/01/2026

The Future of Smart Manufacturing and Soft Robotics is Being Written—Literally! ✴️ 🔁 📲
Latest research demonstrates a revolutionary dual-laser technique for creating truly adaptive, shape-locking devices. Researchers at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (USTC) have pioneered a Reprogrammable Magnetic Shape-Memory Composite (RM-SMC).
Imagine: one high-intensity laser beam 'writes' new internal instructions (magnetic programming) while a second, low-intensity laser beam 'bends' the material into a complex, functional 3D shape—all done in situ.

This innovation eliminates the need for bulky equipment and continuous power, paving the way for dynamic devices that can change their physical function on demand—like an impeller pump that reshapes its blades to handle different liquids.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102183

[Image: The schematic illustrates a novel reprogrammable RM-SMC being controlled by two lasers. A high-intensity laser reprograms the material's internal magnetic alignment (Reprogramming), while a low-intensity laser softens it for physical transformation (Shape morphing). This allows the device, like the impeller shown, to be reconfigured on-site to adapt its function, such as adjusting its blade angle to efficiently pump fluids of different viscosities (Adaptive Pumping).]

08/01/2026

Are you ready to replace racks of optical equipment with a single chip? 💠

The future of high-power, multi-color photonics is here. Columbia Engineering (Columbia University) has achieved a significant milestone by integrating a powerful and precise multi-color laser (a high-power frequency microcomb) onto a single silicon photonics chip.

This is more than just miniaturization—it's a paradigm shift for high-speed infrastructure and portable sensing:

📈 Data center revolution: This technology unlocks Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) at the chip level, enabling dozens of data streams to run in parallel through a single optical fiber. This is the crucial step needed to meet the escalating bandwidth and efficiency demands of AI and cloud infrastructure.

💯 Unmatched precision: By purifying and stabilizing a high-power multimode laser, we’ve created a light source with the raw power of an industrial laser and the coherence needed for advanced applications.

🌐 New applications: Beyond data centers, this compact light source will power the next generation of portable LiDAR systems, spectrometers, ultra-precise optical clocks, and compact quantum devices.

In short: High-power microcombs have the potential to transform the industry: Cutting cost, saving space, and boosting energy efficiency.

https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/about/news/powerful-and-precise-multi-color-lasers-now-fit-single-chip

[Image: Columbia Engineering - The paper’s co-authors, Alexander Gaeta (left) and Michal Lipson, pictured in the Gaeta lab at Columbia University. Gaeta is David M. Rickey Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science and professor of electrical engineering and Lipson is Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering and professor of applied physics.]

05/01/2026

Full-Spectrum Sun-Quality Light: Wallpaper-Thin LEDs Deliver 92%+ CRI ✴️ 😎 ☀️
Laser is thrilled to share a fascinating breakthrough that is setting a new standard for illumination. A prototype Quantum Dot LED (QLED), developed by researchers from Hefei University of Technology 🇨🇳, is pushing the boundaries of display and lighting technology. It's as thin as wallpaper, with its active layer measured in just tens of nanometers. 📄

🔵 Imagine lighting that not only fits seamlessly into any surface but also emits a full-spectrum, sun-like glow with a high Color Rendering Index (CRI) of over 92%. This is a major leap for eye health and well-being, as the low blue light intensity promises to support better sleep patterns and reduce eye strain. 👁️

-–The topics of the Laser World of Photonics trade fair (June 22–25, 2027) and the World of Photonics Congress (June 20–25, 2027) include precision engineering and advanced material processing, which make technologies like these possible. What applications do you foresee for this paper-thin, full-spectrum QLED technology?

https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2025/october/a-prototype-led-as-thin-as-wallpaper-that-glows-like-the-sun.html

[Image: Lin Zhou/ Xianghua Wang, Heifei University of Technology - A paper-thin device uses quantum dots, similar to those described in this work, to light up LEDs.]

Researchers report in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that they have created a paper-thin LED that gives off a warm, sun-like glow.

22/12/2025

The Future Was Here: Relive the Magic of Laser World of Photonics 2025 ✨ 🌐 💎
The energy was electric, the ideas were groundbreaking, and the connections were invaluable. We’re still buzzing from a record-breaking Laser World of Photonics 2025, and we’ve captured some of the highlights in this video.

Over four days, Munich became the global nexus for photonics, bringing together:

✴️ A record-shattering 1,398 exhibitors from 41 countries.
🌍 Approximately 44,000 visitors from 74 countries.
🎤 Pioneering discussions on topics from secondary sources and integrated photonics to the game-changing roles of biophotonics and AI.
⭐️ The World of Photonics Congress was a major success, featuring two Nobel laureates, Prof. Anne L'Huillier and Prof. Ferenc Krausz, who shared their incredible insights.

Our co-location with World of Quantum and AUTOMATICA underscored a powerful truth: photonics is the foundational technology shaping countless high-tech industries.

⏩️ We’re already counting down the days until we see you again
📆 from June 22-25, 2027 📍 in Munich.

17/12/2025

Advanced Photonics Innovation: New Materials Drive Microchip Miniaturization 🌐 🆕

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered a game-changing method using new metal-organic materials and a process called Chemical Liquid Deposition (CLD).

Why does this matter for the photonics world?
This innovation allows manufacturers to utilize Beyond Extreme Ultraviolet (B-EUV) radiation—imprinted by advanced lasers—to create circuit features smaller than 10 nanometers.

These ultra-high-powered beams previously struggled to interact with traditional resists, but the new metal-organics absorb the light and spark the necessary chemical reaction with absolute precision. The finding paves the way for significantly smaller, faster, and more affordable microchips.

https://hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/12/new-materials-for-smaller-microchips/

[Image: AI-generated.]

15/12/2025

Imperfection-Proof Photonics: Guiding Light Undeterred by Defects ✨ 💎 ➡️

The challenge of guiding light through chips and fiber optics without it scattering, splitting, or getting lost has long been a major hurdle in photonics. Engineers typically fight imperfections by polishing devices to perfection—but what if the device itself could ignore the flaws? Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have published a study demonstrating a novel solution: an undeterred, one-way path for light.

By driving a tiny photonic crystal with circularly polarized light, the team successfully created a protected topological channel. This "secret tunnel" forces light to keep moving forward, completely immune to common obstacles like bends, bumps, and back-reflections.

Why this matters for the photonics world:
✴️ Robust lasers: The technique promises sturdier lasers that are fundamentally immune to destabilizing internal reflections.
🌐 Next-Gen optical chips: It paves the way for reliable, controllable light-based chips that route data without signal loss, transforming telecommunications.
🔐 Quantum security: The discovery opens a critical new door for safeguarding fragile quantum information by protecting light states.

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/new-way-guide-light-undeterred

[Images: University of Pennsylvania - # 1: Bo Zhen (right) and postdoctoral researcher Li He developed a system for guiding light through tiny crystals in ways that allow it to navigate undeterred bu bumps and defects. Their work could lead to sturdier lasers, faster data links, and light-based chips that don’t get tripped up by imperfections. | # 2: Penn researchers developed a system that allows light to be guided through a tiny crystal, undeterred by bumps, bends, and back-reflections. Their findings pave the way for robust, controllable light-based chips, smarter routing for data links, and more stable lasers. | # 3: A member of the team holds a tiny patterned semiconductor crystal (aluminum gallium arsenide photonic crystal), the platform that enabled Zhen, Li, and their collaborators to guide light in one direction even around bends and defects.]