The robotic lab can autonomously assemble and fine-tune optics experiments, reducing manual setup time from days or months to minutes. This could enable scientists to focus on theoretical work and accelerate innovation in fields like quantum technologies and renewable energy.
Researchers measured how skin pigmentation affects laser energy required to cause visible skin injury, finding that darker skin requires less energy to reach injury threshold. The study provides quantitative evidence to help improve future laser safety guidelines and support safer optics-based technologies.
A team of researchers created a micro-3D-printed, monolithic optical system that co-integrates micro-scale imaging and ring-illumination in a single fiber bundle endoscope. The compact system achieves a resolution of micro-scale imaging in air and biomedical liquids, enabling future endoscopes for less invasive imaging procedures.
The new journal aims to include contributions from the quantum industry and explicitly address technological context, implementation challenges, and application pathways of reported work. Publishing with SPIE ensures researchers' work gains exceptional visibility and rigorous peer review.
Shengxi Huang, associate professor at Rice University, was elected a SPIE Fellow for her contributions to optics and photonics. The recognition acknowledges her work in multidisciplinary fields involving optics, photonics, and imaging.
The competition brings seven teams together to pitch optics and photonics technologies with cash prizes and industry mentorship. Previous winners include Max-IR Labs, Advanced Optronics, and Coalesenz.
A US team has created an integrated manufacturing framework to produce atomic-scale optics for next-generation light sources. The pipeline links atomic-scale fabrication and precision metrology to in-situ X-ray beam validation, achieving deterministic delivery of nanofocusing mirrors.
Researchers developed realistic skin-like test models to reproduce a range of skin tones and simulate blood flow, helping device developers identify biases in light-based medical technologies. The models showed improved optical signals detection across different pigmentation levels.
Researchers have developed a new approach to create large-scale uniform porous SiO2 monolayer coatings for high-reflection and anti-reflection optics. The coatings demonstrate excellent laser damage resistance, surpassing that of fused silica substrates.
A new imaging system links heart structure and electrical activity across the entire organ, revealing how scar tissue interferes with heartbeat. The technology identifies different tissue types based on light interaction and tracks electrical signals in real-time.
The Optica i4 Prize honors individuals and organizations with outstanding achievements in innovation, integrity, inclusion, and impact. This year's recipients are Lumentum President and CEO Michael Hurlston and company TRUMPF, recognized for their contributions to the global optics and photonics industry.
The system addresses limitations of high numerical aperture objectives by combining a learned titanium dioxide meta-optic with a neural reconstruction network. This co-designed computational microscopy system improves imaging depth and resolves structures throughout thick biological specimens in a single shot.
Researchers developed microneedles that guide and scatter light to improve photodynamic therapy's reach in deep tissue. The technology could simplify treatment and enhance precision for skin cancer patients. Further studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness in real-world conditions.
Researchers at the University of Stuttgart developed an interactively addressable organic metadevice that uses electrically switchable materials to dynamically control light. The platform enables every metasurface pixel to be electronically controlled independently, allowing user commands to be translated into dynamic holographic images.
Researchers introduce bilayer and multilayer nonlocal flat optics, enabling control of optical modes through interlayer spacing, lateral displacement, and lattice mismatch. This emerging field provides routes to high-Q resonances, slow light, and enhanced nonlinear optical interactions.
Researchers used structured light from quantum optics to transform Boehm's brushes into brighter patterns, improving their detectability. This technique may help diagnose retinal diseases like macular degeneration.
The SPIE Prism Awards honor exceptional new products making waves in the photonics industry. Finalists will be announced on November 4, 2026, with winners receiving promotion and recognition at SPIE Photonics West.
Researchers developed a laser Speckle-based Curvature Optical Metrology (SCOM) instrument to measure two-dimensional surface curvature of X-ray mirrors. The system offers a compact, flexible alternative to traditional height-based interferometric methods.
A new study from Houston Methodist introduces a promising noninvasive imaging technique that can help doctors accurately diagnose papillary thyroid cancer. The approach, second harmonic generation microscopy, uses light to examine changes in collagen, which may signal if a thyroid nodule is cancerous.
Researchers developed a full-space adjoint topological optimization framework for meta-optics, achieving on-demand precise shaping of complex vector fields inside an optical cavity. This breakthrough overcomes limitations of conventional topological optimization and enables subwavelength-scale full-vector wave optimization.
The winning research article integrates evolutionary algorithms with nonlinear laser dynamics to establish a novel framework for programmable photonic states. It has strong implications for optical information processing and next-generation communication technologies.
The 2025 Editor-in-Chief Choice Award recognizes exceptional original research article and review paper publications in the journal Advanced Photonics. The award honors innovative research in all areas of optics and photonics, including fundamental and applied research.
A novel solar-thermal desalination process produces fresh water in an energy-efficient way, eliminating brine and chemical additives. The technology leverages the 'coffee ring' effect to extract salts from seawater, producing nearly 100% of the salts in solid form.
The São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Nonlinear and Quantum Photonics will bring together leading global specialists in nanophotonics, nonlinear optics, and quantum optics. The event will provide two weeks of intensive learning on key topics including quantum optics and information.
The SPIE Scholarship Program provides support to 85 students studying optics, photonics, or related fields with scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $11,000. The program aims to build a sustainable photonics industry through high-impact support for students and emerging leaders.
Murnane recognized for pioneering ultrafast laser technology and XUV science, as well as exceptional mentorship and leadership. She has made seminal contributions to the field of optics with over 25 years of international leadership.
Researchers at the University of Rochester developed a solar-thermal desalination process that produces fresh water in an energy-efficient way, eliminating brine and requiring no chemical additives. The technology extracts nearly 100% of salts in solid form, producing table salt and precious minerals like lithium.
Researchers develop a novel adhesive based on liquid-like chalcogenide glass, enabling seamless bonding of high-index optical components and improving transmission and power delivery. The new material achieves significant enhancements in laser power delivery and durability under high-power conditions.
Researchers develop deep learning surrogate for simulating nonlinear optical physics in ultrafast laser systems. The model accelerates simulation by orders of magnitude while maintaining high fidelity, and enables integration with experimental laser control systems.
The convergence of AI and metaphotonics enables the design and integration of ultra-thin, flat optical devices that can bend, focus, and filter light. This technology has the potential to solve real-world hardware limitations, including shrinking cameras and enabling autonomous systems.
A team of researchers developed a practical method to align lobster-eye X-ray optics for space telescopes, enabling the detection of distant gamma-ray bursts with high accuracy. The approach was tested on a prototype structure and achieved precise alignment within five arcminutes.
Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a squeezed phonon laser that precisely controls individual particles of vibration or sound, allowing for accurate measurements of gravity and other forces. This technology has the potential to create more accurate, 'unjammable' navigation systems without relying on satellites.
Researchers developed a multilayer grating solution to enhance RIXS efficiency in the tender X-ray range, reducing acquisition time from hours to minutes. The new spectrometer covers both soft and tender X-ray regions, offering improved performance for studying 4d transition metal materials.
Roberto Morandotti, a world-renowned physicist at INRS, has received the Max Born Award for his breakthroughs in integrated quantum photonics, nonlinear optics, and ultrafast lasers. His work bridges quantum theory with experimental innovation, enabling next-generation optical and quantum technologies.
A team of scientists experimentally demonstrated deterministic entanglement-assisted quantum communication over 20.121 km in fiber channels, outperforming classical communication in metropolitan areas. They proposed an improved continuous-variable dense coding scheme to enhance transmission efficiency and reduce excess noise.
Researchers successfully decode 10 weak classical signals simultaneously using continuous-variable quantum dense coding in 20-km fiber channels. The channel capacity of deterministic entanglement-assisted quantum communication is increased compared to classical communication with coherent state.
SPIE becomes a signatory to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Publishers Compact, committing to help create a sustainable future. The organization's research and publications already align with several of the UN's 17 sustainability goals.
Researchers at the University of Rochester create a new process to turn ordinary metal tubes unsinkable by etching micro- and nano-pits on their surface, making them superhydrophobic. The tubes stay afloat in water, even when damaged or submerged for extended periods.
Uriel Levy has been appointed as the inaugural editor-in-chief of SPIE's Advanced Quantum Catalyst journal, which will serve as a premier venue for real-world quantum applications. The journal aims to bridge the gap in quantum research publishing landscape by emphasizing implementation, integration, and cross-disciplinary applications.
A team from Harvard and University of Lisbon found that silica, a low-refractive index material, can be used for making metasurfaces despite long-held assumptions. They discovered that by carefully considering the geometry of each nanopillar, silica behaves as a metasurface, enabling efficient design of devices with relaxed feature sizes.
Dr. Michael Davis, an astrophysicist at Southwest Research Institute, has been recognized by SPIE as a Fellow for his work on space instruments and UV imaging. He is the optics and detector scientist for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Juno mission to Jupiter.
Researchers from the UJI Optics Group have developed a new method to correct image aberrations in single-pixel microscopy using a deformable lens. This approach combines an adaptive lens with a sensor-less method that evaluates image sharpness directly from the data, producing sharper images close to the physical resolution limit witho...
Researchers develop actively tunable metasurface using tungsten disulfide, allowing for control of light at the nanoscale. The device uses excitons to manipulate red light, enabling applications in optics and photonics.
The Advanced Photonics Young Innovator Award honors outstanding papers published in SPIE-CLP's journal over the past five years. Seven recipients are celebrated for their diverse range of innovative research, which shapes the future of optics and photonics.
Stanford engineers develop an AI framework called MetaChat, which rapidly accelerates metasurface design using computational tools and self-reflective AI assistants. This enables rapid solving of optics-related problems, such as designing metal lenses that can focus different wavelengths of light.
Liu's project aims to translate optoretinography into a sensitive clinical biomarker for retinal disease assessment. The fellowship supports interdisciplinary problem-driven research and translation of new technologies into clinical practice.
Antoine Browaeys, a pioneer in quantum physics, has been recognized for his groundbreaking research on neutral atom arrays and their application to controlled quantum simulation of many-body physics. This platform holds great promise for the future of quantum technologies.
Moore is recognized for his distinguished leadership in academia, government and professional societies, as well as his pioneering contributions to gradient-index optics. He has received numerous awards, including election to the National Academy of Engineering and Optica's Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award.
Researchers created a novel alignment method, DIANA, for high-efficiency X-ray optics by combining laser-interferometric tilt/yaw correction with Vernier/moiré-based lateral/rotational alignment. This technique enables precise stacking of X-ray Fresnel zone plates with sub-30-nanometer precision and addresses key challenges in FZP stac...
A research team has achieved a major breakthrough in non-Hermitian photonics by realizing the transition from bound states in continuum (BICs) to exceptional points (EPs) in metasurfaces. This discovery verifies core theory and provides a new perspective on unique physical properties of non-Hermitian systems.
Scientists have developed a new type of metasurface that combines waveguide physics with planar design to achieve precise control over light at the nanoscale. The metasurfaces produce photonic flatbands across wide angles while preserving ultrahigh quality factors, enabling efficient trapping of light and strong interactions with matter.
A new 3D imaging technique combines intensity diffraction tomography with adaptive optics to track subcellular structures over extended periods. This approach achieves high spatiotemporal resolution and molecular specificity, enabling the study of cellular dynamics.
Researchers developed reconfigurable nonlinear Pancharatnam-Berry optics using patterned ferroelectric nematics, enabling dynamic control over nonlinear phase shifts. The approach offers unprecedented flexibility for advanced optical processing, adaptive optics, and quantum information technologies.
Researchers have demonstrated a portable, noninvasive technology that can detect metabolic changes linked to Alzheimer's disease by measuring cytochrome c oxidase activity. The study found that including oxCCO measures improved the ability of the brain-monitoring tool to capture clinically relevant brain changes.
Researchers have developed a new approach to manufacturing multicolour lenses using metamaterials, overcoming major limitations of metalenses. The design enables polarisation independence and scalability through mature semiconductor nanofabrication platforms.
The article discusses the progress of nanoimprint lithography (NIL) over 30 years, highlighting its high throughput and 3D patterning capabilities. NIL is becoming a key technology for fabricating emerging devices, including metalenses in smartphone cameras and automotive lidar.
Scientists developed a new 4D optical coherence tomography technique that measures airway wall elasticity in under 42 seconds, enabling detailed assessment of respiratory tissue mechanics. This faster approach may help diagnose and monitor upper airway disorders, assess injury, and guide treatment decisions.
Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a new type of solar thermoelectric generator that can harness thermal energy in addition to sunlight. The device is 15 times more efficient than current state-of-the-art devices, making it a promising source of renewable energy.
Cara Green joins Optica Foundation with over a decade of fundraising experience, focusing on student development and community partnerships. The Optica Foundation supports innovative programs for the next generation of optics leaders.
Researchers develop compact, noninvasive imaging system combining LC-OCT and Raman microspectroscopy to examine skin cancer structures and chemical composition. The AI model achieves high classification accuracy for basal cell carcinoma and other types, offering new insights into cancer development and behavior.