Source: The SLA Organizing Committee  20^th Nov 2025

As the highest honor and development benchmark of China's laser industry, the award system for the 9th Secret Light Awards (SLA) was officially announced. Building on its strength of covering the entire industrial chain, this edition has added two prestigious new awards—the Laser Technology Innovation Team Award and Laser Industry Young Talent Award—for the first time. It now forms a comprehensive evaluation framework spanning enterprises, products, technologies, teams and talents, aiming to unlock the innovation momentum of the laser industry from a more holistic perspective and drive the high-quality development of the sector.

According to the Organizing Committee, this edition of the Secret Light Awards has for the first time brought in multiple professional investment institutions for in-depth participation. Award-winning projects and technological application achievements will have the opportunity to receive special investment support ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 yuan, along with supporting financial services, laying a solid financial foundation for the transformation of innovative outcomes.

More notably, recipients of the Laser Industry Young Talent Award will be eligible for recommendation to the evaluation process of national-level awards. This initiative builds a higher-level development platform for young professionals in the industry, helping them achieve greater social value and contributions to the sector.

Eight Years of Dedication to Establishing a Benchmark

Nine Awards Mapping the Complete Landscape of Innovation

Launched in 2018, the Secret Light Awards have successfully held eight editions to date, identifying and honoring over 400 groundbreaking technological achievements, and attracting the participation of more than 500 domestic and foreign enterprises and research institutions in total. Adhering to the selection principles of "fairness, impartiality, transparency, high standards and internationalization", it has been hailed as "the Oscar of China's laser industry".

The award system of this year’s Secret Light Awards has undergone a significant upgrade, with nine awards forming a full-chain evaluation framework. It includes awards recognizing industry leaders such as the Laser Industry Influential Enterprise Award and those highlighting promising emerging players like the Best Growth Enterprise Award. It also covers technology innovation awards spanning core components to industrial equipment, including the Laser Component Innovation Award, Laser Processing Head Innovation Award, Laser Device Innovation Award, Laser Industrial Equipment Innovation Award and Laser Supporting Product Innovation Award. These awards fully cover key links across the upstream, midstream and downstream of the laser industry chain, and accurately capture the trajectory of industrial technological upgrading.

Innovation Team Award Established for the First Time

Targeting Tackling Key "Chokepoint" Problems

Young Talent Award Added

Discovering the "New Forces" of the Industry

Authoritative Review to Escort

Driving China’s Laser Industry to a Higher Level

The 9th Secret Light Awards (SLA) will uphold the high-standard review criteria of previous editions. An authoritative jury consisting of academicians, renowned scholars and industry experts in the laser field will be convened to conduct rigorous evaluations across multiple dimensions, including technological innovation, project leadership, industrial contribution and market influence. The final results, determined by combining these evaluations with online voting, will be announced globally at the annual award ceremony.

The upgrade of this year’s awards is not only an expansion of the evaluation dimensions, but also a precise response to the development needs of the laser industry. As a landmark event in the laser sector, the 9th Secret Light Awards will continue to build an integrated platform covering the entire industrial chain of industry, academia, research, application and capital, driving China’s laser technology to move towards a higher level and facilitating the collaborative development of the global laser industry.

Application Guide for the 9th Secret Light Awards (SLA)

1. Application Deadline

March 31, 2026

2. Eligible Applicants

The 9th Secret Light Awards open applications to the following categories:

Legally operating enterprises, research institutes and universities at home and abroad in the laser industry (covering the upstream, midstream and downstream of the industrial chain); teams that have successfully addressed "chokepoint" challenges and achieved major technological breakthroughs in key laser fields; and young talents worldwide who have made outstanding achievements in laser technology R&D, achievement transformation and industrial promotion.

Ultrafast lasers, fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers and other types of lasers.

Laser processing equipment and system solutions for cutting, welding, cladding, cleaning, marking and automated production lines.

Supporting equipment such as optical fibers, optical lenses, laser heads, water chillers, processing machines, visual inspection systems, motion control software and hardware, and industrial internet systems.

3. Application Rules

Applicants must submit innovative products, technologies or completed projects launched between 2025 and 2026, which have been widely applied and promoted in the industry with typical application cases.

The applied products must not involve infringement of others' intellectual property rights or other illegal and non-compliant situations. During the public notice period, if there are legal issues such as property right/copyright disputes, the applying enterprise shall bear full responsibility.

Products that applied for product-based awards in the previous year will not be accepted. Each product can only apply for one award, and each applicant is entitled to apply for up to two awards free of charge.

4. evaluation Criteria

Final Score of Awards = Expert evaluation Score (60% weight) + online Voting Score (30% weight) + Organizer evaluation Score (10% weight)

5. Application Process

Applications are only accepted online. Log in to the official website of the Secret Light Awards (URL: https://sla.laserfair.com) via PC, and click "Application Entry" to start the application.

Select the award you wish to apply for and fill in the corresponding form as required.

Provide detailed textual information as much as possible. After completing the form, upload and submit the materials online.

6. Application Consultation

If you have any other questions during the application process, please contact us via the following method:

Inquiry Hotline | +86 0769-22035318

Email | info@laserfair.com