The SPIE Prism Awards, now in its 17th year, has announced its finalists for 2025. The awards recognize innovative photonics products that are transforming industries and lives. The ceremony will take place on January 29 at SPIE Photonics West, and 24 products, from emerging innovators to industry stalwarts, will be honored.
Eoptic, Delta Life Science, Ki3 Photonics Technologies, and Qunnect will share the stage with established companies like Thorlabs, Leonardo, Trioptics, and NIL Technology. Key individuals presenting at the ceremony include Leslie Kimerling of Double Helix, Katie Schwertz of Edmund Optics, and Ursula Keller of ETH Zurich.
The awards also include the second SPIE Catalyst Award, which recognizes for-profit companies with socially or environmentally focused programs that have had a significant positive impact. Finalists for this award are SCHOTT, Thorlabs, and Vacuum Innovations.
Celebrating Innovation in Photonics: The 2025 SPIE Prism Awards
The SPIE Prism Awards, now in its 17th year, is an annual event that recognizes commercialized innovation in photonics. This prestigious award honors companies that are bringing transformative products to market, showcasing the best new photonics products in various categories. For 2025, 24 products from emerging innovators and industry stalwarts have been selected as finalists, with winners to be announced at SPIE Photonics West on January 29.
The categories include quantum tech, biomedical, imaging, lasers, optical materials and components, sensors, software, test and measurement, and the Catalyst Award. This year’s entries and finalists demonstrate the rapidly developing technology areas in photonics, highlighting the impact that optics and photonics technologies have on our lives.
Finalists Announced Across Eight Categories
The 24 products selected as finalists come from companies ranging from emerging innovators to industry stalwarts. Newer companies such as Eoptic, Delta Life Science, Ki3 Photonics Technologies, and FlulDect will share the stage alongside more established companies like Thorlabs, Leonardo, Trioptics, and NIL Technology.
Enspectra Health’s VIO, Delta Life Science’s inQuiQ®, and Norlase’s LYNX are among the finalists in the biomedical category. For cameras and imaging systems, Eoptic’s Cambrian Edge, NIL Technology’s metaEye™ Ultra-Compact Camera, and Thorlabs’ Mini2P have been selected.
In the lasers category, n2-Photonics GmbH’s MIKS1_M, Scantinel Photonics GmbH’s Narrow linewidth hybrid-integrated laser, and Thorlabs’ Long-Wave Infrared Supercontinuum Laser (LWIRSC) are among the finalists. For optical materials and components, LightPath Technologies’ BDNL Materials, Omega Optical’s DeepUV Transmission Gratings, and xolo GmbH’s Xube2 Lens 3D Printer have been selected.
In the quantum tech category, Ki3 Photonics Technologies Inc.‘s Q-COMB, Leonardo DRS (Daylight Solutions)’ Stretto®, and Qunnect‘s QU-RACK Gotham are among the finalists. For sensors, EXALOS’ 3-fiber SLED Transceiver EXC250033, FlulDect GmbH’s SpheroScan Explorer, and Interherence GmbH’s QUSCITE have been selected.
In the software category, BRELYON’s BRELYON Visual Engine, HyperSpectral Corp.’s SpecAI, and PlanOpSim’s PlanOpSim are among the finalists. For test and measurement, Innovations in Optics, Inc.’s LumiSun-50 LED Solar Simulator, Quartus Engineering Inc.’s OptiQuiver, and TRIOPTICS GmbH’s OptiCentric® Bonding 5D MultiAlign have been selected.
The Catalyst Award: Honoring Efforts to Solve Problems with Light
The Catalyst Award is a special category that acknowledges the efforts required to bring optics and photonics technologies to market. This year’s finalists include SCHOTT AG for their 100% hydrogen optical glass production, Thorlabs, Inc. for their Thorlabs Photonics Learning initiative, and Vacuum Innovations for their Optical Coating Design & Technology Education.
SPIE CEO Kent Rochford expressed his excitement about the upcoming celebration at Photonics West in January, saying, “These awards give us the opportunity to showcase and appreciate the impact that optics and photonics technologies have on our lives as well as the efforts required to bring them to market.”
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. Founded in 1955, the Society connects and engages with its global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions, publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library, and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has invested more than $25 million in the international optics community through its advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development.
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