Shanghai Fanchuangwei Technology's high-transparency optical AR glasses lens project has settled in Huangyan, Taizhou, to be carried out by Fanke Technology (Taizhou) in two phases, with a total investment of about 550 million yuan. Phase one, at about 150 million yuan, plans to complete an innovation center and pilot production line by 2027; phase two, at about 400 million yuan, targets annual production of 100 tons of high-purity silicon carbide optical material by 2028. The project targets AI glasses and AR terminals, covering the full chain from optical materials and etching processes to optical devices.
Why we recommend it: The original article gives the investment figures for the two phases, production line timelines, and a target of 100 tons of silicon carbide optical material per year, useful for gauging the pace of silicon carbide optical waveguide industrialization.
Following Sha Shuli's withdrawal from the transaction, Advanced Fiber Resources has adjusted its acquisition target to a 99.97% stake in Suzhou Anjiexun, at a transaction price of about RMB 1.6395 billion, against an appraised value of about RMB 1.650 billion for all of Anjiexun's equity. The deal will be paid through share issuance, convertible bonds and cash, with the cash consideration totaling about RMB 492 million.
Why we recommend it: The original article provides the valuation, pricing and payment structure, helping readers understand M&A valuations in the optical communications passive components sector
Optics & Photonics News reports that an early clinical study showed optogenetic therapy can partially restore vision in patients with severe vision loss. Most adverse events were mild to moderate, with only one transient severe event after injection that resolved within minutes. First author José-Alain Sahel of the University of Pittsburgh said the results show that the visual system retains the ability to process new information even in people with severe blindness.
Why we recommend it: Optogenetic therapy applies light stimulation directly to vision restoration, and the original article provides safety results from an early clinical study, serving as a reference for biophotonics applications
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Siloton will receive £8.4 million in funding from Innovate UK over two years to advance GiraffeOCT, its OCT technology based on quantum photonic integrated circuits, toward clinical use. The funding is expected to shorten the development timeline by about two years.
Why we recommend it: The original article lays out the funding path for moving photonic integrated OCT from the lab to the clinic, serving as a reference for commercializing medical optical devices
Scientists in the US and New Zealand have demonstrated a new type of frequency comb based on a dual-pump laser. Using a self-alignment mechanism, the approach could help move frequency comb technology from a niche to broader applications. Miro Erkintalo of the University of Auckland took part in the research.
Why we recommend it: The original article explains the combination of dual pumping and self-alignment, offering useful insight into simplifying frequency comb devices
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Xi'an Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (XIOPM) · Research ProgressOptics industryPicksAI score5959
A team led by Researcher Wang Quan at the Biomedical Spectroscopy Laboratory of the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has achieved wireless near-infrared optogenetic pain relief using upconversion nanoparticles. The research was recently highlighted in a dedicated commentary in Nature Photonics. Optogenetics received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on October 5, 2026.
Why we recommend it: The original work applies upconversion nanoparticles to wireless near-infrared optogenetics, offering reference value for biophotonics applications
On October 5, Optica congratulated Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel on receiving the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their pioneering contributions to optogenetics.
Why we recommend it: The original is the optical society's official response to the Nobel Prize and can serve as a landmark event marking optics technology entering the life sciences mainstream
EPFL researchers have developed a photonic integrated, infinitely self-injection-locked laser that maintains lock without active control and has been packaged in a standard fiber-coupled butterfly package.
Why we recommend it: The original describes an integrated narrow-linewidth laser ready for direct packaging, relevant to simplifying laser sources in optical communications and sensing.
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Smart contact lens company XPANCEO has partnered with Contamac to advance the development of AR contact lenses using materials already used in FDA-cleared ophthalmic devices.
A team at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics has proposed and demonstrated a lithography-free Cr/a-GST/Bi planar metal-insulator-metal absorber based on ultrahigh-refractive-index materials. With a total thickness of only 550 nm, it achieves high absorption and thermal emission control across the 8-14 μm long-wave infrared band.
Why we recommend it: The original work presents a lithography-free, ultrathin long-wave infrared absorber structure that is relevant to infrared stealth and thermal management devices
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OFweek Optics Network · NewsOptics industryOptics and AIPicksAI score6161
On September 17, Largan spent RMB 1.172 billion to acquire about 2,259 ping of land and 3,695 ping of buildings in Nantun, Taichung. It was the company's seventh real estate deal since late June, bringing the total to RMB 8.078 billion. Chairman Lin Enping confirmed in July that the company had won its first customer order for fiber arrays, with the land purchases paving the way for mass production in 2027.
Why we recommend it: The source details the pace and value of the land purchases, showing the scale of the smartphone lens leader's push into CPO fiber arrays
A paper in Light: Science & Applications reports light-guided azo polymer hydrogel actuators, using the photoinduced deformation of azo polymers to achieve light-controlled actuation.
Wang Jun's team has revealed the multi-stage process of continuous mid-infrared laser-driven phase transition in a VO₂/SiO₂ heterostructure, from thermal accumulation and phase-transition acceleration to thermal saturation.
A team led by Shao Jianda and Zhu Meiping has used an Al₂O₃/HfO₂ nanolaminate graded-index structure to improve the laser-induced damage resistance of picosecond laser reflection thin films.
The Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) has made progress in geometry-induced quantum interference and ultrafast nonlinear optical control in CdO nanograting films.
A team led by researcher Meng Bo at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics published a paper in Laser & Photonics Reviews presenting a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser with a goblet-shaped waveguide structure. The active region is formed by selective wet etching, eliminating the semi-insulating InP lateral regrowth process. A 1 mm × 3 μm device achieved a continuous-wave threshold power of about 1 W at 293 K, an output power above 27 mW, and a room-temperature pulsed wall-plug efficiency of 3.9%. A 2 μm-wide device maintained stable single-mode lasing across the entire current range, with a side-mode suppression ratio of about 20 dB.
Why we recommend it: The goblet-shaped waveguide eliminates the semi-insulating InP regrowth step through selective wet etching. The paper reports room-temperature continuous-wave threshold power and wall-plug efficiency, which can be compared with buried-heterostructure devices.
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Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP) · Research ProgressOptics industryPicksAI score5959
A team led by researcher Meng Bo at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics published a paper in Light: Science & Applications proposing a multistate-to-continuum (MTC) active-region design based on diagonal transitions, and used MOCVD to grow a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser with a single active region and an ultrabroad gain spectrum.
Why we recommend it: The diagonal-transition design from multiple states to continuum states allows several transition channels to contribute gain simultaneously. The paper reports lasing spectral widths of 1.2 µm at room temperature and 1.93 µm at 80 K, directly relevant to applications such as mid-infrared frequency combs.