Photonics Spectra

Photonics Spectra is a monthly publication aimed at professionals in the photonics field, including engineers, scientists, and consumers who create, market, and purchase photonic products. The magazine delivers valuable technical insights and application-focused content covering various sectors of the global photonics industry. It encompasses all areas of photonics, such as optics, lasers, imaging technologies, fiber optics, and electro-optics. Additionally, it explores advancements in photonic component manufacturing, solar cell technologies, LED lighting solutions for vehicles and workspaces, as well as imaging and testing equipment for THz, EHz, UV, IR, and visible light.

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Decades of Discoveries Broadened the Laser Spectrum

5 days ago | photonics.com | Jeff Hecht

Visible lasers debuted with just a couple of shades of red. A series of advancements has grown over the years into a cascade, yielding an amazing range of colors to feed innovation. At the dawn of the laser age, any color could be attained from a laser, as long as it was red. Theodore Maiman’s first laser was a ruby rod that emitted pulses at 694 nm, the long end of the visible spectrum.
With Ongoing Advancements, Ultrafast Laser Technology Is Breaking Boundaries

5 days ago | photonics.com | Antonio Castelo

The market for ultrafast lasers has experienced significant, sustained growth in recent years. Buoyed by the strong adoption of these lasers for materials processing, medical diagnostics, bio-imaging, telecommunications, defense, and security, experts expect the market to continue to expand as demand increases for precision solutions. Other developments, meanwhile, have advanced the performance of the laser sources.
Directed Energy Technologies Mount an Energetic Response to the Drone Threat

2 months ago | photonics.com | Michael Eisenstein

Amid abundant opportunity for directed energy systems, the viability of the technology’s deployment hinges on sustained investment. “Keep your eye on the sky” is a critical rule in modern warfare, due to the rapid proliferation of low-cost, speedy uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft can be fitted with surveillance equipment for tracking the enemy or loaded with weapons or explosives to take out targets.
Inspection throughout production

2 months ago | photonics.com | Douglas Farmer

During the tumultuous last few years in the machine vision market, companies that have thrived have benefited from reinforcing their places in the value chain of industry. Successful businesses have often provided solutions from one end of production to another.
LEDs Shine Brighter in Machine Vision Applications

2 months ago | photonics.com | Hank Hogan

Innovations in wavelength and pulse control allow LEDs to be more efficient in industrial settings, and developers say lighting should be considered at the start of system design. For potent implementation of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and light sources in machine vision applications, illumination needs must be integrated into the initial system design.
Laser Communication Terminals Spark a Silent Revolution

Mar 6, 2025 | photonics.com | Andreas Thoss |Michael Ullrich

Laser communication terminals deliver ultrafast, secure data transmission. With the capability to transform satellite constellations, science missions, and defense operations, this technology has matured and is taking off. In September 2024, the New York Times published a report on a spectacular flight by a SpaceX capsule carrying two private astronauts. The crew performed the first-ever commercial spacewalk, among a few other headline-grabbing feats. Courtesy of ESA/P. Carril.
Silicon Carbide Bridges the Gaps Between Electronics and Photonics

Mar 6, 2025 | photonics.com | Barry Silverstein

Industrial manufacturing has long favored silicon carbide (SiC) for its utility as a cutting material, exhibiting exceptional hardness that resembles diamond at roughly half the cost. Other desirable qualities, including SiC’s mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, and low density, have steered the material into the field of optics to be used as a thin, lightweight, and stable coated optical mirror substrate for space applications.
Photonics’ “Semiconductorization” Stands Out Among Trends at Photonics West 2025

Feb 13, 2025 | photonics.com | Andreas Thoss

Once again, Photonics West was thriving, with the exhibit halls and floors of the conference center humming with intense conversations about the latest advances in all areas of photonics technology. I will discuss a few trends I found particularly noteworthy. It was surprising how far-removed Washington and political discussions appeared to be from this meeting of photonics experts from all around the world.
AI Assists Vision-Guided Robots in Food and Beverage Inspection

Jan 7, 2025 | photonics.com | Austin Harvey |Oxipital AI

As labor concerns grow, food and beverage producers are turning to robotic systems. Artificial intelligence enables a range of capabilities, especially for variable items such as proteins and produce. For decades, machine vision has helped robotic systems surpass limited, rote applications, enabling a wide range of pick-and-place applications across industries.
About Lasers and a Dinosaur

Jan 7, 2025 | photonics.com | Andreas Thoss

If you look at the photonics landscape, you will see some well-known hotspots: There is of course Jena (my hometown) in Germany; Rochester, N.Y., and Tucson, Ariz., in the U.S.; and Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Vilnius, the capital of the Baltic state Lithuania, might not be the first place that you think of, but it’s definitely up there, too. Lithuania is a small country, roughly twice the size of the state of Maryland, with a population of 2.9 million.