The Future of Photonics: What to Expect at SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025
By John Oncea, Editor
SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025 in San Diego is the leading event for photonics engineers, featuring innovative research, exhibitions, and professional development.
Each August, SPIE Optics + Photonics convenes thousands of engineers, researchers, and innovators in San Diego for a week of discovery, networking, and technical advancement. This event is a convergence of the latest in optical and photonic technologies, offering opportunities to explore new research, applications, and industry trends.
The Legacy Of SPIE Optics + Photonics
Founded in 1955 as the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, SPIE has grown into an international leader supporting research, education, and innovation in light-based science and engineering. Optics + Photonics, one of SPIE’s flagship conferences, has become a multidisciplinary hub, annually investing millions in scholarships, advocacy, and community support. The event is a cornerstone for professionals working in optics and photonics, including those in imaging, communications, sensing, and materials science.
What To Expect In 2025
SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025 will be held from August 3 to August 7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center and is expected to be the largest yet, featuring over 2,600 presentations and 52 conferences. Attendees can look forward to 30 professional development courses, a dozen plenary speakers, enhanced student programming, and the Society Awards Banquet.
A major highlight for 2025 is the introduction of a fourth symposium, Astronomical Applications, covering topics such as space and ground telescopes, UV/X-ray/gamma-ray astronomy, and exoplanet detection. These areas are of significant interest to photonics engineers involved in instrumentation, imaging, and data analysis.
The conference is organized into several major symposia:
- The Optical Engineering + Applications symposium focuses on imaging, sensors, optical design, metrology, and system integration, all crucial for advancing photonic systems.
- The Nanoscience + Engineering symposium explores nanophotonics, nanomaterials, and their integration with electronic systems, offering insights into next-generation photonic components.
- The Organic Photonics + Electronics symposium highlights organic semiconductors, flexible electronics, and optoelectronic devices, enabling innovative photonic architectures.
- The new Astronomical Applications symposium will delve into telescopes, astronomical instrumentation, and data analysis, providing valuable content for those interested in space-based technologies.
The exhibition runs from August 5 to August 7, and is free to attend, providing access to leading companies, emerging startups, and the latest products and technologies in optics and photonics. Complimentary networking events on the exhibition floor make it easy to connect with peers and industry leaders.
Program Highlights
Plenary talks and keynotes will feature world-renowned experts, covering themes such as sustainability, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and their impact on photonics systems. With 55 topical conferences, photonics engineers will find sessions on photonic integrated circuits, optical wireless communications, advanced imaging and sensing, terahertz photonics, and quantum technologies for secure communications.
Professional development is a major focus, with hands-on courses in optomechanics, optical systems design, CMOS technology, diffractive optics, and machine learning designed to help engineers upskill and apply new photonic technologies.
The exhibition floor serves as a marketplace for essential optical components, materials, and devices, with many exhibitors showcasing solutions directly applicable to photonic engineering, such as high-speed detectors, modulators, photonic switches, and fiber-optic components. Networking events provide opportunities to discuss collaboration, partnerships, and technology transfer.
The week concludes with the Society Awards Banquet, celebrating advancements in medicine, astronomy, lithography, metrology, optical design, and community leadership, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the field.
Why Attend?
Attending SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025 allows you to stay at the forefront by learning about the latest breakthroughs in photonics that are shaping the future of technology, from advanced imaging to quantum-secure communications. The event offers hands-on learning opportunities through workshops and courses tailored to engineers, enabling them to gain practical skills in emerging areas.
Networking is a key benefit, as the event facilitates relationship-building with fellow engineers, researchers, and industry leaders across optics and photonics domains. Attendees gain access to innovation, discovering new products and technologies that can enhance photonic system performance and open new application areas. The event also provides cross-disciplinary insights, demonstrating how photonics and optics are driving innovation in science and engineering.
SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025 is set to be a pivotal event for photonics engineers seeking to expand their expertise and connect with the broader optics and photonics community. With its comprehensive program, new symposia, and robust exhibition, the event offers a unique opportunity to explore the technologies and trends driving the future of photonics. Mark your calendar for August 3–7, 2025, and prepare to engage with the future of light-based science and engineering in San Diego.