Innovative photonics shortlisted for 2024 SPIE Prism Awards

08 Nov 2023

Winners to be announced at Photonics West for biomedical, sensing, quantum, VR, and lasers, plus new Catalyst Award.

The best of new photonics technologies are among the finalists for the 2024 SPIE Prism Awards. The 27 companies — ranging from emerging innovators to industry stalwarts — selected in nine categories, will be honored during a 31 January gala evening at SPIE Photonics West.

The annual event, which will be celebrating its 16th year, recognizes industrial innovation in photonics, honoring companies that are bringing transformative products to market.

Rapidly developing technology areas — encompassing augmented and virtual reality hardware, sensors, quantum, autonomy, and lasers — showcase the range and variety of this year’s entries and finalists. Newer companies such as PhotoSound Technologies, Anello Photonics, Heliotis, DigiLens, Redback Systems, and Qunnect, will share the stage alongside more established companies such as EKSPLA, TRUMPF, Thorlabs, and ams Osram.

New Catalyst Award

This year (2024), in addition to the regular slate of awards in areas ranging from healthcare and sensing to lasers and quantum, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, is introducing the SPIE Catalyst Award. This new recognition honors for-profit companies with specific social or environmentally focused programs that have had significant positive impact, either within their workplace, on society at large, or on the environment. Finalists for the inaugural Catalyst Award are Ball Aerospace, Intel Corporation, and Thorlabs.

“I’m very excited to announce our first Catalyst Award at the 2024 SPIE Prism Awards,” said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. “The Prism Awards recognize the impact that optics and photonics technologies and products have on our lives. The Catalyst Award will recognize the revolutionary change that companies in our industry are driving to improve society through EDI, outreach, and sustainability programs.

“The optics and photonics industry plays a major role in making the world a better place, and we always appreciate the opportunity to acknowledge the scientists, engineers, and companies that improve our lives in extraordinary ways. I’m looking forward to congratulating all the finalists and winners at our celebration at Photonics West in January,” said Dr. Rochford.

The Prism Awards finalists

The Award categories, finalists and their competing products and programs are as follows:

AR VR MR

• DigiLens Inc., ARGOTM
• LetinAR, PinTILTTM
• Porotech, DPT® (DynamicPixelTurning®)

Autonomy

• ANELLO Photonics, SiPhOGTM (Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope)
• Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), microArch S350
• Santec, Wafer Thickness Mapping System TMS-2000

Biomedical

• JenLab GmbH, MPTcompact)
• Ondine Biomedical Inc., Steriwave® nasal photodisinfection)
• PhotoSound Technologies Inc., MoleculUS)

Cameras and imaging

• Heliotis AG, heliCam C4
• Optotune, ELM-75 gravity compensated liquid lens
• Thorlabs, Inc., Prelude® Functional Imaging Microscope

Lasers

• EKSPLA, FemtoLux 30
• inPhocal, PHOC-1
• TRUMPF, TOP Cleave 3D

Quantum tech

• AUREA Technology, GIGAXEA GHz photon detector
• Qunnect, QU-APC
• Ushio Inc., HL70021DG and HL70031DG

Sensors

• ams OSRAM AG, TCS3530 True Color Sensor
• Pixel Photonics GmbH, WI-SNSPD (Waveguide-Integrated Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector)
• Scantinel Photonics GmbH, Scantinel X-One

Software

• Frenel Imaging, TPiCORE©
• LightTrans International GmbH, VirtualLab Fusion – Distributed Computing Package
• PlanOpSim, PlanOpSim

Test and measurement

• LithOptek LLC, CDOP (CD-Optimizer)
• Redback Systems Pty Ltd., RS10k
• Persistence Data Mining, Inc., Soilytics®

Catalyst

• Ball Aerospace, GEMS (Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer) and TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution)
• Intel Corporation, Quick Start Semiconductor Technical Training program and Relaunch Your Career career-returning program
• Thorlabs, Inc., Thorlabs Mobile Photonics Lab Experience

For more information on the Prism Awards — and to buy tickets for the 16th annual gala celebration — please visit the official website: www.photonicsprismaward.com.