Optics Daily · Thursday, October 1, 2026
opticsnews
AT&T and Corning sign fiber optic cable deal worth over $3 billion
AT&T and Corning have reached a multi-year fiber optic cable supply agreement worth more than $3 billion in total, as fiber demand continues to strengthen. On the research side, the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics proposes programming coherent and quantum light sources with free-electron wave packets, while DTU nearly doubles the range of low-noise supercontinuum light through fiber heat treatment; in August, 525,500 LiDAR units were installed in China's passenger vehicles, with Hesai trailing Huawei by just 65 units.
Technology & Research
Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics · Research NewsFirst-partyOptics industrySIOM proposes programming coherent and quantum light sources with free-electron wave packets
Researcher Tian Ye and Academician Li Ruxin's team at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), together with Researcher Pan Yiming of ShanghaiTech University and others, have proposed a new mechanism that uses the quadratic phase accumulated during the propagation of free-electron quantum wave packets to simultaneously achieve selectable high-harmonic bunching and synthesis of non-classical quantum light sources, linking quantum state control, high-harmonic radiation and quantum light synthesis.
Laser Focus WorldOptics industryDTU 'bakes' fiber to nearly double the range of ultra-low-noise supercontinuum lasers
A team at DTU Electro, Technical University of Denmark, has made progress in ultra-low-noise supercontinuum lasers, nearly doubling the spectral range compared with similar low-noise sources by heat-treating the fiber.
Optics & Photonics NewsOptics industryFishbone Photonic Crystal Cavity Enables Heterogeneous Integration of Diamond and TiO2 Circuits
Shuo Sun and colleagues used a fishbone photonic crystal cavity to combine a diamond nanobeam with a titanium dioxide integrated optical circuit, achieving heterogeneous integration.
Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics · Research NewsFirst-partyOptics industryOptics and AISIOM uses improved YOLOv8-seg for intelligent beam-spot analysis at high-power laser facility
The Joint Laboratory for High Power Laser Physics at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) has proposed a beam-spot analysis system based on an improved YOLOv8-seg to meet the need for rapid, precise alignment of optics along the full chain of high-power laser facilities, and has completed experimental validation.
Industry & Capital
AT&T and Corning Sign Multi-Year Optical Fiber and Cable Supply Agreement Worth Over $3 Billion
AT&T announced a multi-year optical fiber and cable supply agreement with Corning with a total contract value of more than $3 billion. Corning will continue delivering fiber and cable for AT&T's home broadband expansion. AT&T said average monthly traffic per fiber user has surpassed 1TB, five times the 2016 level.
OFweek Laser Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIChina Passenger Vehicle LiDAR Installations Reach 525,500 Units in August; Hesai Trails Huawei by Just 65 Units
Data from NE Times show that 525,500 LiDAR units were installed in passenger vehicles in China in August 2026. Hesai installed 182,436 units, just 65 fewer than Huawei, with the two companies together accounting for 69.4%. The growth logic is extending beyond simply adding vehicle models to multiple LiDARs per vehicle, robotic perception and 3D spatial mapping.