Global Photonics Technology Developments and News (June–July 2025)

The months of June and early July 2025 have been eventful for optical and photonic-component technologies, with breakthroughs spanning communications, quantum photonics, LIDAR, imaging, AR/VR optics, and biomedical applications. Industry reports and expert commentary highlight rapid growth in photonics markets and the accelerating pace of innovation. Below is a comprehensive overview of the key developments, expert insights, and future outlook across various domains of photonics during this period.

Optical Communications and Networking

High-capacity optical fiber communications saw record-breaking achievements. A global research team led by Japan’s NICT demonstrated the first petabit-per-second transmission over a distance beyond 1,000 km. Using a new 19-core fiber (standard 0.125 mm cladding) and custom optical amplifiers, they sent 1.02 Pb/s over 1,808 km, marking the fastest long-haul fiber transmission to date nict.go.jp nict.go.jp. NICT noted this “represents a major step forward in developing scalable, high-capacity networks and addressing the world’s growing demand for data” nict.go.jp. Just weeks later, NICT also teamed with ASTRODESIGN and Fujikura to deploy a multi-core fiber system for uncompressed 8K video. They combined eight 4-core fibers (32 cores total) in one cable and successfully streamed multiple 8K feeds across a 300 m link between buildings nict.go.jp nict.go.jp. This pilot proved that multi-core fiber can tackle huge 8K data rates (~70 Gbps per stream) even where conduit space is limited, enabling ultra-high-resolution video in broadcasting, telemedicine, and other applications nict.go.jp nict.go.jp.

Another advance in optical networks came in the form of novel light sources and processors. In early June, NICT and Sony announced a breakthrough in laser design: the first practical 1,550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) using quantum dots as the gain medium nict.go.jp nict.go.jp. This miniaturized “surface-emitting laser…facilitates the miniaturization and reduced power consumption of light sources in optical fiber communications systems” nict.go.jp nict.go.jp. By leveraging NICT’s precise crystal growth and Sony’s semiconductor processing, the team achieved an efficient, long-wavelength VCSEL that promises cheaper, lower-energy lasers for fiber-optic links nict.go.jp. On the signal processing side, researchers at MIT unveiled an optical AI accelerator chip for wireless networks. Announced June 11, the photonic processor uses an optical neural network to perform real-time radio signal classification at the speed of light, intended for future 6G edge devices news.mit.edu news.mit.edu. It ran 100× faster than digital counterparts while maintaining ~95% accuracy, and could dynamically manage spectrum or assist in ultra-low-latency tasks (like autonomous driving) by doing AI inference in nanoseconds news.mit.edu news.mit.edu. “What we’ve presented…could open up many possibilities for real-time and reliable AI inference. This work is the beginning of something that could be quite impactful,” said MIT’s Dirk Englund, senior author on the work news.mit.edu.

The optical communications industry at large remains optimistic. Market research released in June projected the global silicon photonics sector (critical for optical interconnects and data centers) to grow at 25.8% CAGR, reaching $8.13 billion by 2030 prnewswire.com prnewswire.com. Analysts attribute this growth to surging demand for high-speed and energy-efficient links in cloud computing, AI/ML, 5G, and even emerging quantum and LIDAR systems prnewswire.com prnewswire.com. Indeed, major cloud providers (Amazon, Google, Microsoft) are investing in photonic interconnects to speed up data centers while reducing power draw prnewswire.com prnewswire.com. The importance of photonics in telecom was underscored at the Optical Fiber Conference (OFC) 2025 earlier in the year – by June, IEEE Photonics Society commentators noted how photonics underpins global communications infrastructure and is “advancing…infrastructure” with ever-higher capacities and lower latencies nict.go.jp nict.go.jp. With these advances in fibers, lasers, and optical computing, the foundation is set for faster and greener networks beyond 5G.

Quantum Photonics and Computing

Momentum in quantum photonics continued to build, bridging scientific advances and commercial products. Optica’s June report highlighted that a “growing number of startup companies” worldwide are betting on photonic quantum computing and believe that a “universal quantum [photonic] machine is finally within reach.” optica.org Several recent milestones back this optimism. For instance, Quandela, a French photonics startup, unveiled a 12-qubit photonic quantum computer named “Belenos” (late May 2025) with 4,000× the power of its 2-qubit predecessor datacenterdynamics.com datacenterdynamics.com. Available via cloud to researchers globally, Belenos supports quantum machine learning and is slated for on-premise deployment at a national supercomputing center by year-end datacenterdynamics.com. Quandela’s CEO Niccolo Somaschi emphasized that access to the new system “paves the way for concrete applications… at the interface between AI and quantum”, with plans to scale to >40 qubits in three years datacenterdynamics.com datacenterdynamics.com.

In the U.S., Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) announced in mid-June that it shipped the first commercial entangled-photon source for quantum communications research. The source – a compact, broadband SPDC-based device operating at telecom C-band – was delivered to a leading South Korean research institute prnewswire.com prnewswire.com. “Our entangled photon sources are an integral part of our quantum cybersecurity platform… We’re excited to deliver this technology to global users who are working to shape the future of quantum communication,” said QCi CTO Dr. Yong Meng Sua prnewswire.com. QCi noted the product leverages its proprietary photonic technologies (like thin-film lithium niobate) and will be further miniaturized in future versions prnewswire.com. The company sees this as a “significant step in validating and commercializing our technology”, demonstrating growing market interest in quantum-ready photonic components prnewswire.com.

Academic breakthroughs also complemented industry moves. Researchers are pushing photonic quantum hardware for better computing and sensing performance. A team from the University of Vienna showed that even small-scale photonic quantum processors can enhance machine learning, achieving performance gains over classical methods while drastically lowering energy use sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. Published in Nature Photonics (June 2025), their photonic chip ran a quantum kernel algorithm that “commits fewer errors than its classical counterpart” on certain classification tasks sciencedaily.com. “Existing quantum computers can show good performances without necessarily going beyond state-of-the-art technology,” noted project lead Philip Walther sciencedaily.com. Notably, the energy efficiency of the photonic approach was highlighted – the optical processor consumed far less power than a standard computer for the same task, a promising sign for “greener” AI as computing needs soar sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com.

Meanwhile, new journals like Optica Quantum (June issue) showcased a flurry of advances: from photonic links for cryogenic qubit control and fiber-based entangled photon sources, to machine-learning-optimized photon-number sensors and photonic quantum memory at telecom wavelengths eurekalert.org eurekalert.org. These developments in quantum photonic components – many still in the lab – aim to improve the building blocks of quantum networks and processors. The overall trend in mid-2025 is clear: photons are increasingly central to quantum technology roadmaps, with startups and researchers alike reporting progress in scaling qubit counts, integrating photonics with AI, and delivering first-generation photonic quantum devices to early adopters.

LIDAR and Optical Sensing

Optical LiDAR technology – crucial for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and remote sensing – saw significant commercial and market developments. In the automotive sector, industry analysis by Yole (July 2025) revealed a “passenger car lidar ‘surge’” led by Chinese manufacturers optics.org. The global automotive LiDAR market is now projected to exceed $1 billion in 2025, growing ~42% from 2024 optics.org. Chinese companies captured 93% of the automotive LiDAR market in 2024, thanks to scale, government support, and aggressive pricing optics.org optics.org. Hesai Technology alone held ~33% share after shipping over half a million units in 2024 optics.org optics.org. “China’s dominance in automotive lidar is not accidental. It’s the result of deliberate industrial policy, fast product cycles, and bold integration strategies,” noted Yole analyst Pierrick Boulay optics.org. China’s EV makers like BYD and Li Auto have started equipping mainstream models with lidar (e.g. BYD’s new “God’s Eye” system), driving volumes up dramatically optics.org optics.org. In 2024 over 1.6 million LiDAR units shipped globally – more than double 2023’s volume – with much of that growth in Chinese passenger cars optics.org. In contrast, Western automakers remain cautious, limiting LiDAR to premium models or testing robotaxis. But the surge in Asia is expected to accelerate development and cost reduction, influencing others to follow suit in ADAS and self-driving programs optics.org optics.org.

At the product level, leading LiDAR manufacturers launched new sensors targeting broader applications beyond cars. For example, Israel’s Innoviz Technologies introduced InnovizSMART in June – a long-range LiDAR built on their automotive-grade tech but repackaged for “smart infrastructure” uses like security, traffic management, drones, and robotics prnewswire.com prnewswire.com. The device offers up to 400 m range with high resolution and a wide field of view, all with Power-over-Ethernet for simple deployment on city poles or industrial sites prnewswire.com prnewswire.com. “InnovizSMART is built on the same technological foundation as [our] automotive solutions, bringing that quality and standard to the smart infrastructure space,” said Innoviz CEO Omer Keilaf prnewswire.com. He noted it provides cities and integrators a robust, high-performance LiDAR with the “privacy, reliability, and durability of an automotive-grade product” prnewswire.com. This reflects a trend of LiDAR diversification – adapting the sensors for use in everything from delivery robots to smart cities, where their 3D sensing can improve safety and efficiency.

In parallel, semiconductor players are advancing the underlying components of LiDAR. Sony announced a new stacked SPAD depth sensor (model IMX479) on June 10, optimized for automotive LiDAR. This single-photon avalanche diode array achieves 520 dToF pixels at 20 fps, offering high resolution and high speed in a compact package sony-semicon.com sony-semicon.com. “The new product enables the high-resolution and high-speed distance measuring performance demanded for an automotive LiDAR…contributing to safer and more reliable future mobility,” Sony stated in its release sony-semicon.com. The sensor’s stacked design (an array of 3×3 SPAD sub-pixels per cell with on-chip processing) gives it an excellent vertical angular resolution (~0.05°) and the ability to detect objects 300 m away, even in bright sunlight sony-semicon.com sony-semicon.com. Such innovations in detectors and lasers – including more powerful VCSEL arrays and frequency-modulated lasers – are steadily improving LiDAR performance while lowering size and cost. In the automotive realm, even executives from traditional carmakers have publicly endorsed LiDAR: at the Aspen Ideas Festival in late June, Ford’s CEO contrasted his approach with Tesla’s, arguing that high-resolution LiDAR is critical for safety in self-driving efforts (a notable shift in industry debate). Overall, mid-2025 finds LiDAR tech maturing and proliferating: from the factory floor and highway to the skies and cities, optical sensing is becoming a ubiquitous part of modern intelligent systems.

Imaging Systems and Optics Innovation

Photonics research in imaging systems has delivered exciting innovations in lenses and sensors, aiming to make cameras and optical devices smaller, smarter, and more capable. A notable breakthrough came from an international team (POSTECH in Korea and others) who developed an AI-designed metalens imaging system that achieves high-quality, full-color images with a single ultra-thin lens. Traditional lenses often require multiple elements to correct aberrations, but this system uses a nanostructured metalens paired with a deep learning image restoration algorithm. By training a neural network to correct the lens’s chromatic aberration and blurring, the researchers attained aberration-free imaging comparable to bulky lenses optics.org optics.org. The metalens was fabricated via nanoimprint lithography for scalability optics.org. According to Prof. Junsuk Rho of POSTECH, “this deep-learning-driven system marks a significant advancement in the field of optics, offering a new pathway to creating smaller, more efficient imaging systems without sacrificing quality.” optics.org The result is an ultra-compact camera that could be ideal for smartphones, AR/VR headsets, and medical scopes, where space and weight are at a premium. Industry observers noted that metalenses combined with AI correction “have the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries” by enabling miniaturized optics that still deliver high resolution optics.org optics.org.

Another startup pushing lens innovation is MetaOptics (Singapore), which gained attention in June for its “Advanced Color Metalens Imaging System.” This single-layer glass lens uses nanophotonics and AI to replace complex multi-lens assemblies. The company claims their meta-optic is thinner, lighter, and more durable than plastic lenses, while producing “sharper, more vibrant images — even in low light — and [reducing] plastic waste” by eliminating multiple lens elements thecooldown.com. Since launching in mid-2024, MetaOptics secured orders for its fabrication tools and showcased its lens at CES 2025, attracting interest from major tech brands thecooldown.com thecooldown.com. The MetaOptics story underscores how sustainability and performance are intersecting in optics: advanced flat lenses can not only shrink camera size but also cut down on materials (important when billions of tiny cameras are produced annually). As one commentator noted, reimagining something as established as the camera lens opens the door to broader optical innovation and “greener” tech in the imaging world thecooldown.com thecooldown.com.

In augmented and virtual reality optics, companies are tackling the challenge of high-performance visuals in lightweight glasses. At the AWE 2025 expo (June 2025), Lumus – known for its reflective waveguide displays – unveiled an upgraded Z-30 optical engine for AR glasses. The Z-30 provides a 30° field of view with a tiny projector and improved efficiency, achieving up to 7,000 nits/W luminance for outdoor use auganix.org auganix.org. Lumus CEO Ari Grobman said “Z-30 is more than ready for mass-market consumer glasses… compact enough to fit inside standard eyeglass frames, powerful enough to function in daylight, and efficient enough for all-day use.” auganix.org This suggests a turning point where true all-day AR eyewear with decent FOV and brightness is on the horizon. Lumus also showcased a larger Z-50 engine (50° FOV) for immersive AR, emphasizing that optical engines are being tailored to use-cases (from discreet info overlays to rich media experiences) auganix.org. The company highlighted ongoing innovations in “power efficiency, miniaturization, and overall optical performance” to overcome AR’s traditional hurdles of bulk, brightness, and battery life auganix.org auganix.org. These developments, along with meta-optics research reducing AR waveguide thickness (e.g. POSTECH’s single-layer full-color waveguide in May), indicate that consumer AR/VR devices in the coming years will benefit from much slimmer, lighter optical components without compromising visual quality.

Biomedical and Scientific Photonics

Photonics continues to advance healthcare and life sciences through novel imaging and sensing techniques. A striking example is a new ultrathin intracorporeal imager developed by a Carnegie Mellon University-led team, reported in late May and featured in Optica’s June news. The device – essentially a micro-endoscope – is only 7 microns thick (one-tenth of an eyelash) yet can capture high-resolution images deep inside the body with minimal invasiveness phys.org phys.org. The imager consists of a flexible array of waveguides on a hair-like polymer probe and was shown to record neural activity in a mouse brain phys.org phys.org. Because it’s so thin and flexible, it can snake into tissue or blood vessels that rigid endoscopes can’t reach. “As opposed to existing prohibitively large endoscopes…our microimager is very compact,” explained CMU’s Maysam Chamanzar, the team lead. “Much thinner than a typical eyelash, our device is ideal for reaching deep regions of the body without causing significant damage.” phys.org With further development, these micro-imagers could be attached to catheters or surgical instruments to provide real-time internal visuals – for example, guiding surgeons during delicate procedures phys.org. The work (published in Biomedical Optics Express) also demonstrated imaging of fluorescent biomarkers in brain tissue, validating that the tiny device can capture functional information like neural calcium signals phys.org phys.org. Such biophotonic tools hold promise for minimally invasive diagnostics, from neural probes to “lab-in-a-needle” endoscopes for internal organs.

Another area of progress is optical biosensing and spectroscopy for health and environment. In June, researchers demonstrated a novel way to detect toxic heavy metals in water using a wood-based microfluidic chip coupled with optical readout. As reported in Applied Optics, a team crafted channels out of natural wood that selectively trap lead ions, then used microwave-based heating and optical colorimetry to measure lead concentrations optica.org. The inexpensive biodegradable chip could provide quick at-home water testing, helping prevent lead poisoning optica.org. This exemplifies a broader trend of integrating photonics with microfluidics and even sustainable materials to create low-cost sensors for public health.

In the realm of medical imaging, June also brought news of regulatory and clinical progress in optical techniques. The U.S. FDA recently approved the LumiSystem for fluorescence-guided breast cancer surgery – a combination of a targeted optical dye (pegulicianine) and imaging device that helps surgeons spot residual tumor tissue in real time. With this optical guidance, surgeons in trials achieved significantly better detection of leftover cancer in lumpectomy cavities, potentially reducing re-operation rates cancernetwork.com cancernetwork.com. One surgical oncologist called the ability to scan the whole cavity for glowing cancer cells “game-changing,” noting it may allow de-escalation of radiation or other treatments if more tumor is removed initially cancernetwork.com cancernetwork.com. This highlights how biomedical optics is directly improving patient care – from fluorescence-guided surgery to advanced endoscopic imaging and beyond.

Finally, at the intersection of photonics and fundamental science, researchers are using advanced optics to see the unseen. For example, a June report detailed a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging system that uses vectorial “digitelligent” optics – essentially polarizing, phase-shifting metasurfaces combined with deep learning – to reconstruct images of objects hidden around corners with unprecedented resolution bioengineer.org bioengineer.org. By carefully shaping the wavefront of a laser and analyzing faint reflections, the system resolved millimeter-scale features of objects not in direct view, a notable leap for NLOS vision bioengineer.org bioengineer.org. Though the research (published in Engineering) was based on earlier work from late 2024, its coverage in 2025 underscores growing interest in computational optics for applications like robotic vision and autonomous navigation in complex environments. As one report summarized, the convergence of metasurface optics, AI algorithms, and advanced detectors is “opening new pathways” in imaging, effectively pushing the boundaries of what cameras can do bioengineer.org bioengineer.org.

Industry Outlook and Expert Perspectives

Across these developments, experts and industry leaders provided context about the trajectory of photonic technologies. Market forecasts are uniformly bullish: besides the silicon photonics growth noted earlier, Yole’s analysts predict the automotive/passenger LiDAR market will top $3.6 billion by 2030 (24% CAGR) as ADAS adoption rises optics.org optics.org. They did adjust timelines slightly – a year slower than previously thought – but affirm a robust upward trend, especially fueled by Chinese OEMs optics.org optics.org. In the AR/VR sector, analysts from Omdia and others noted that tech giants are pivoting to lighter-weight mixed reality devices, which in turn drives innovation in optics and displays. Meta and Apple’s recent product strategies (e.g. Meta’s focus on passthrough MR, Apple’s high-resolution VR/AR) highlight a push for optics that deliver high performance in compact form. Industry voices acknowledge challenges remain – brightness, power, cost – but as Lumus’s CEO put it, companies like his are “already aligned with what comes next” in meeting demand for “more capable, more wearable” AR systems auganix.org.

Experts also emphasized collaboration and crossing traditional boundaries. At a Photonic Society forum in June, speakers remarked on how photonics now intersects with AI, materials science, and biotech in unprecedented ways. For instance, DARPA’s new Quantum Benchmarking program (QBI) brought together quantum computing approaches; one participant, Canada’s Photonic Inc., touted a distributed photonic quantum computing architecture that impressed evaluators photonic.com photonic.com. “Realizing the full potential of quantum at scale will require our collective genius,” said Microsoft’s Krysta Svore regarding such efforts, underscoring the mix of industry and academia needed for breakthroughs photonic.com. Similarly, in manufacturing, the Laser World of Photonics Congress (late June in Munich) showcased how lasers and photonic techniques are enabling smarter production – for example, laser-driven generation of medical isotopes photonics.com and new optical metrology for chip fabrication.

In summary, June–July 2025 revealed a photonics field in vibrant growth and convergence. Optical fiber links shattered performance records, while photonic chips promise to reshape networks and computing. Quantum photonics is graduating from theory to real devices powering communication and computation. In sensing, LiDAR is becoming ubiquitous, aided by both market forces and technical refinement of lasers and detectors. Revolutionary optics like metalenses and waveguides are drastically shrinking devices from cameras to AR glasses, aided by AI and advanced materials. And in medicine and science, photons are probing deeper, illuminating hidden details from inside the body to around corners. Executives and experts are optimistic that these parallel advances will feed into each other – creating an ecosystem where photonic components are smaller, faster, and smarter each year. As one industry report aptly put it, 2025 is shaping up as a milestone year for photonics, marked by “record-breaking experiments and technological firsts” ts2.tech. The innovations of this summer bring us closer to a future where optical technologies underpin everything from the internet and quantum computers to the devices in our pockets and the healthcare that keeps us well – truly a bright future powered by photonics.

Sources:

• NICT Press Releases (May–June 2025) nict.go.jp nict.go.jp nict.go.jp nict.go.jp nict.go.jp nict.go.jp
• MIT News (June 11, 2025) news.mit.edu news.mit.edu; IEEE Photonics Society/OFC Commentary nict.go.jp nict.go.jp
• Optica/OPN June 2025 Newsletter optica.org; Quandela news (Datacenter Dynamics) datacenterdynamics.com datacenterdynamics.com
• Quantum Computing Inc. Press Release (June 17, 2025) prnewswire.com prnewswire.com; University of Vienna via ScienceDaily (June 8, 2025) sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com
• Optics.org and Yole Group (July 2, 2025) optics.org optics.org optics.org; Innoviz Press Release (June 10, 2025) prnewswire.com prnewswire.com; Sony Press Release (June 10, 2025) sony-semicon.com sony-semicon.com
• Auganix AR News (June 10, 2025) auganix.org auganix.org; POSTECH/ScienceDaily (May 8, 2025) sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com; Optics.org (Nov 2024 & June 2025) optics.org optics.org; The Cool Down Tech News (June 16, 2025) thecooldown.com thecooldown.com
• Phys.org (May 19, 2025) phys.org phys.org; Optica (June 2025) optica.org optica.org; Cancer Network (Apr 2024) cancernetwork.com; Bioengineer.org (June 23, 2025) bioengineer.org bioengineer.org; Quantum Insider (June 2025) ts2.tech