From The Editor

1. Bright Ideas — Market Reports, ASU’s Role In Microelectronics, And The Promise Of Photon Counting 11/30/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, we look at the silicon photonics devices and fluorescence imaging systems markets, an optical chip that has the potential to train machine learning hardware, and why Arizona State University is becoming a major player in microelectronics.

2. How 3D Printing Is Being Used To Get To And Stay In Space 11/29/2022

   3D printing technology is helping get us to space quicker and for less money. But how is the technology going to be used in space?

3. Bright Ideas — Prism Award Finalists Announced, Insight Into Alternative Material For Solar Cells, and Exploring Graphene Quantum Dots 11/23/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, SPIE announced 24 finalists across eight categories that are up for Prism Awards, Intel Corporation announced 10 startups that will be taking part in a 12-week tech expert program, and Rockley Photonics revealed groundbreaking technology that supports IR and hyperspectral image detection and sensing devices.

4. Bright Ideas — New Laser Beam Steering Device Coming, German Armed Forces Test Fire HEL Weapon Against Drones 11/16/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, a University of Texas professor begins the exploration of an optical laser beam steering device for 3D sensing in autonomous cars and the German armed forces successfully conducted the first operational test-firing of a high-energy laser (HEL) weapon against drones aboard a German Navy warship.

5. SWOT: NASA’s Plan To Map Earth’s Waterways 11/10/2022

   NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is scheduled to launch in early December. The mission is to make measurements of over 95% of the Earth's lakes, rivers, and reservoirs and the results will help combat global warming, better forecast and respond to hurricanes, and more.

6. Bright Ideas — “Optrodes” Could Revolutionize Prosthetics, Luminar Lidar Hits Production 11/9/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, NASA finally pins down a launch date for Artemis I Moon Mission, Luminar lidar hits the production lines, "optrodes" signal possible shift in development of prosthetic limbs. 

7. Bright Ideas — Quantum Inertial Sensors Could Save Communications, China To Open First Photonic Chip Fab 10/26/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, China is reportedly ready to break ground on the nation's first photonic chip manufacturing facility. And one researcher and his team at Sandia are trying to transform bulky quantum inertial sensors into smaller, more rugged packages to back up lost GPS signals. 

8. Bright Ideas — Two In Vivo Solutions Offer Quicker, Better Cancer Detection, Booz Allen Hamiton Invests In DEWs 10/19/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, two new in vivo solutions show promise for early or more accurate cancer detection. Plus, Booz Allen Hamilton invests in direct energy weapons (DEWs) with the creation of its new HELworks business unit. 

9. Bright Ideas — $100B Investment To Build Largest US Semiconductor Fab, This State Is The Next Quantum Computing Hub 10/12/2022

   Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, New York welcomed a promised $100 billion, 20-plus-year investment from Micron Technologies to build what it says will be the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility in the U.S. Plus, this southern state is now home to a quantum computing hub. 

10. Bright Ideas — NASA's DART Deemed A Success, Cockroaches Get Their Comeuppance 10/5/2022

    Bright Ideas presents the most captivating news and innovations in optics and photonics. This week, NASA's first attempt at using kinetic force for planetary defense was a success — and it was caught on camera by two of the most reputable space telescopes. Plus, researchers try once and for all to rid the world of cockroaches — with lasers.