From The Editor

  1. Bright Ideas — 3D Metal Printing Advancements, Improvements On Optical Ranging Technology, Controlling Radiation Direction, And More 3/22/2023

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, we look at SEEQC’s energy-efficient digital chips, ultra-efficient white light lasers, observing atoms in outer space to improve the measurement of climate factors, and more.

  2. Can Photonics Overcome A Decades-Long Hiring Challenge? 3/21/2023

    Advances in technology and applications are fueling the growth of photonics in more fields including military, communication, aerospace, and automotive to name but a few. These advances have increased the need for photonics professionals but, ironically, photonics has been facing a shortage of qualified technicians for decades now. This is a problem that threatens to slow the industry's growth and is presenting photonics companies with some difficult hiring challenges.

  3. Bright Ideas — Exceptionally Brief Hard X-Ray Pulses, Silicon Photonics Kicking Down Doors, Gh-Gh-Gh-Ghost (Imaging), Butterfly Wings, And More 3/15/2023

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, we look at a couple of pieces of Optica news, a Texas A&M professor wins a major award, a photodetector shows enhanced sensitivity and speed, and more.

  4. How Machine Vision Is Benefitting The Automotive Industry 3/9/2023

    Machine vision is making its impact felt in every industry and that impact is only going to grow more and more dramatic. Let’s take a look at how it’s making its mark on the automotive industry.

  5. Bright Ideas — Using Fullerene To Predictably Switch An Electron’s Path, Keeping Quantum Computer Cool, Giant Leap Toward 3D Cameras, And More 2/27/2023

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, we look at making qubits and controlling them to read and write data, dirt-cheap alternatives to silicon, making phantoms match the optical properties of their target tissue, and more.

  6. Quantum, Ant-Man, And The Wasp 2/24/2023

    Hollywood has a long history of, let’s say, twisting facts. So how did they do with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania? (Hint: not so good.)

  7. Bright Ideas — Quantum Imaging, Single Photons On A Chip, A Lattice With Properties Never Seen Before, And More 2/22/2023

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, we look at what’s happening with SPIE and Optica, explore nanophotonics, say hello to Eindhoven, and more.

  8. Bright Ideas — A New Path Toward Quantum Light, 3D Lidar Could Make For Safer Autonomous Driving, Reprogrammable Photonic Microchips Shipped, And More 2/15/2023

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, a look back at Photonics Best … err … West, Wits U researchers find distortion-free forms of structured light, how photonics can help keep it green, and more.

  9. The Netherlands And Orlando: Hotbeds Of Photonics Growth 2/9/2023

    The photonics market is predicted to experience explosive growth over the next several years. The Netherlands and Orlando are offered here as examples of a country and a city capitalizing on said growth.

  10. The Who, What, And Where Behind Photonics’ Explosive Growth 2/9/2023

    The photonics market is growing at a tremendous rate from China, Japan, and South Korea to The Netherlands To Orlando. In this two-part look at photonics’ explosive growth, let's figure out why.