BELLINGHAM, Wash., and PITTSFIELD, Mass., Dec. 5, 2018 — Established industry stalwarts will compete with disruptive startups at the Prism Awards ceremony and banquet during SPIE Photonics West 2019 in San Francisco. Celebrating its 11th year, the Prism Awards recognize industrial innovation in photonics in multiple categories; 120 companies from 15 countries applied for this year’s awards.

2018 Prism Award winners in the Lasers category, Class 5 Photonics. Courtesy of SPIE.

The awards, organized by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and sponsored by Photonics Media, add two new categories this year: Transportation and Vision Technologies. The Prism Awards continue to reflect the rich growth, exciting developments, and technical innovation in optics and photonics.

“This year’s Prism finalists represent the savviest and most innovative companies from the growing optics and photonics industry,” said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. “Bringing a product to market is a huge achievement, and we applaud all the applicants for the many years of research and development necessary to create a sellable technology. The benefits that photonics provide to society are more critical than ever, and the products showcased by the Prism Awards mark an exciting glimpse into the high-level and wide-ranging accomplishments in the field. I look forward to hearing the winners announced at Photonics West.”

Newer companies such as RedShift BioAnalytics, aJile Systems, and Double Helix Optics — a 2016 SPIE Startup Challenge champion and recent winner of Luminate’s accelerator program and $1 million prize — will share the distinction of being finalists alongside photonics giants such as Nikon, Trumpf, Leica, and Hamamatsu.

“Photonics Media is once again exceedingly proud to join in presenting the international competition that has become the benchmark for innovation in photonics around the globe,” said Thomas Laurin, president and CEO of Laurin Publishing. “For more than a decade now, the Prism Awards have recognized the people and companies that are driving the remarkable pace of product innovation and technology application in our burgeoning field.”

Prism Award finalists and their competing technologies:

Detectors & Sensors

CloudMinds — XI AI Raman Spectrometer

Hamamatsu Photonics — C14384MA Mini-Spectrometer (SMD series)

ImpactVision — Real-Time Food Quality Decisions

Diagnostics & Therapeutics

Convergent Dental — Solea CO2 Dental Laser

Double Helix Optics — SPINDLE

RedShift BioAnalytics — AQS Protein Analyzer

Imaging & Cameras

Ajile Light Industries — DepthScan

Leica — BLK3D

RDI Technologies — Iris MX

Industrial Lasers

Civan Advanced Technologies — HP Laser & CBC Technology for Materials Processing

nLIGHT — Corona Fiber Laser

TRUMPF — TruPrint 5000

Light Sources

Gamma Scientific — RS-7-SWIR

SLD Laser — LaserLight MicroSpot Module

Smart Vision Lights — NanoDrive

Optics & Optomechanics

Dover Motion — DOF-5

Modular Photonics — Omplex Passive Silica Chips

Nikon — 4D Free-Form SG

Scientific Lasers

Chromacity — OPO-CX

Spark Lasers — ALCOR 920 nm, 2W

TOPTICA Photonics — DLC TOPO Automated Widely Tunable MIR Laser Source

Test & Measurement

4D Technology — 4D InSpec XL

InterOptics — OptoFlat

SmarAct — PicoScan Vibrometer

Transportation

Alta Devices — AnyLight Gen4 Solar Cell

Blackmore — Automotive Doppler Lidar System

OFS — FlightLinx PLUS Fiber Optic Cable

Vision Technology

AlphaMicron — CTRL Eyewear

Optotune — Extended Pixel Resolution Beam Shifter XPR-25

QD Laser— RETISSA Display

In 2019, SPIE’s Photonics West will host an estimated 23,000 registered attendees, 1,350 exhibitors, and more than 5,200 papers. Along with 14 professional-development sessions and 70-plus courses covering everything from Laser Sources to Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics, Photonics West 2019 also hosts a job fair for optical engineering.