From The Editor

1. SSRL BL 10-2: Quick-Scanning XAS For Operando Catalysis 3/31/2026

   BL 10-2 is the first beamline at SSRL, a U.S. Department of Energy user facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, dedicated exclusively to catalysis research and the first quick-scanning XAS instrument deployed at a high-flux wiggler source with full pitch and roll control over the monochromator crystals. The result is a facility optimized not only for photon delivery, but for the tightly controlled environments that operando catalysis experiments demand.

2. Vision Systems Shrink As Intelligence Moves To The Edge 1/6/2026

   Vision is moving closer to the edge – and shrinking fast.

3. How Noninvasive Imaging May Finally Eliminate Diabetes Finger Pricks 12/22/2025

   MIT engineers demonstrate Raman spectroscopy can accurately measure blood glucose through skin, offering a needle-free alternative to traditional diabetes monitoring.

4. 6 Conference Tracks, 60 Courses Anchor Photonics West 2026 12/16/2025

   Photonics West 2026 offers over 100 technical conferences, 60 courses, and networking events spanning biomedical optics, lasers, quantum tech, and Vision Tech.

5. Fundamental Divergence: Photonic Computing Vs. Telecommunications Photonics 12/15/2025

   Photonic computing and telecommunications photonics optimize for fundamentally opposing requirements – latency versus distance, reconfigurability versus stability, nonlinearity versus linearity – demanding different materials, devices, and design philosophies.

6. Quantum Engineering At The Nanoscale: The Power Of Superlattice Design 12/10/2025

   Superlattice engineering enables atomic-precision control of semiconductor electronic and optical properties through nanoscale layering, creating devices impossible with bulk materials.

7. Thermal Management In Dense Photonic Integration 12/8/2025

   As photonic integrated circuits pack more components into smaller chips, power density and thermal effects create fundamental performance limits through thermo-optic resonance shifts, crosstalk, and stability challenges that scale nonlinearly with integration density.

8. Biophotonics Offers New Hope For Cardiovascular Disease Patients 12/3/2025

   Biophotonics merges light technology with biology to transform cardiovascular care through advanced imaging, photobiomodulation therapy, and precise interventions.

9. Silicon Photonics Tackles AI's Data Bottleneck 12/2/2025

   Silicon photonics transceivers now exceed 1.6 Tbps using wavelength multiplexing, while co-packaged optics promise 70% power savings for AI workloads.

10. Holoporting To And From Space: The Future Of Cosmic Communication 12/1/2025

    Holoportation technology enables real-time 3D communication between Earth and space, allowing medical professionals and others to virtually visit astronauts aboard the International Space Station while promising revolutionary applications for future Mars missions.