Edmund Opens Florida Laser Optics Center: Week in Brief: 8/11/23

Edmund Optics established a 34,000-sq-ft laser optics center in Oldsmar, Fla. The center is dedicated to manufacturing optical components with high laser damage thresholds from the ultraviolet to the far infrared, and it expands Edmund’s laser optics manufacturing capabilities across laser crystal and glass fabrication, polishing, metrology, inspection, and testing. Approximately 50 employees work at the center.

Edmund Optics opened a 34,000-sq-ft laser optics center dedicated to manufacturing a variety of optical components with high laser damage thresholds from the ultraviolet to the far Infrared. The center is located outside Tampa. Courtesy of Edmund Optics.

WROCLAW, Poland — Quantum dots developer and manufacturer QNA Technology SA said that it raised about 16 million PLN ($4 million) as a result of its B and C series share issuance. The company’s technology enables the manufacture of dot semiconductors in a colloidal format, which gives users control over the physiochemical properties of the developed solution. QNA develops blue-emitting quantum dots that do not contain heavy metals or rare-earth elements for display applications, including ultraviolet microLEDs and quantum dot-based electroluminescence display devices.

ALHAMBRA, Calif. — EMCORE Corp. plans to sell its defense optoelectronics and broadband segment product lines, except chips, to Photonics Foundries Inc. Given the anticipated sale, EMCORE expects last-time buy revenue to aggregate approximately $6 million. The transaction does not include EMCORE’s wafer fab assets. The company now plans to focus solely on its inertial navigation business, it said.

LÜBECK, Germany — SLM Solutions, which specializes in metal additive manufacturing, will add the Adira AddCreative additive manufacturing technology to its portfolio. SLM Solutions’ acquisition includes Adira’s Addcreative 3D printing system; it is based on the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT (Fraunhofer ILT) moveable process head technology, which is capable of supporting up to 12 lasers and operating on a 1- × 1-m build platform. Adira’s Addcreative team, which is based in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, will join SLM Solution’s global team.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Mixed reality solutions and services provider Realfiction Holding AB entered a commercial license agreement with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) that secures exclusive rights to use HKUST’s patented and fast ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) technology in future production of 3D displays larger than 9 in. According to Realfiction, the combination of its underlying directional pixel technology in the patent-pending driving system, and FLC technology, unlocks a jump in 3D. The combination enables multiuser glasses-free viewing without any loss of resolution.

BOSTON — Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), a developer of advanced manufacturing solutions for ultrahigh precision applications using projection micro stereolithography (PμSL) technology, raised $24 million in a series D round. BMF will invest in its development R&D, further promote and extend its terminal products, and strengthen its global collaborations across med-tech and high-end manufacturing. The current funding comes one year after BMF completed a $42 million series C round.