BlueHalo Awarded $95.4M SMDC Contract: Week in Brief: 5/24/24

VIGO Photonics, a producer of uncooled infrared photon detectors, has signed an agreement with the National Center for Research and Development to co-finance the HyperPIC — photonic integrated circuits for mid-infrared applications — project up to €102.9 million ($111.3 million) under the European Funds for a Modern Economy program. The aim of the HyperPIC project is to develop and implement photonic integrated circuit technology designed to operate in the mid-infrared range to create a production line providing a complete value chain for mid-infrared photonic integrated circuits systems. The project is planned to be implemented in 2023-2029.

BlueHalo’s LOCUST laser system. Courtesy of BlueHalo.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense technology company BlueHalo has been awarded a $95.4 million contract by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command for advanced direct energy prototype development as part of the Laser technology Research Development and Optimization program through the Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium. BlueHalo will conduct continuous system performance improvement, research, and prototyping based on the company’s counter-UAS technologies and data received through active deployment of its LOCUST laser systems.

Refeyn’s new U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Mass. Courtesy of Refeyn.

OXFORD, U.K. — Refeyn, a developer of mass photometry technology, has opened its U.S. based headquarters in Waltham, Mass. The 10,000 sq ft building will be used to directly support bioscience companies and university-based researchers in the Greater Boston area. The facility includes a BSL-2 lab, service center, research and development center, and applications lab as well as offices and training rooms.

MAINZ, Germany — Provider of optical components Edmund Optics will host the inaugural Innovation Summit in Europe on June 13 in Veldhoven, The Netherlands. The summit is free and aims to bring together industry experts, innovators, and thought leaders to explore advancements in optical solutions for precision manufacturing. The event will feature speakers from Edmund Optics, Teledyne Lumenara, and Admesy B.V. covering topics in lasers, optics, manufacturing, metrology, and imaging.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Lumileds, an LED manufacturer and solution provider, has entered into an agreement under which First Brands Group, a global automotive parts manufacturer, will acquire its lamps and accessories business for $238 million. As part of the acquisition, Lumileds’ automotive lamps factories in China, Germany, and Poland will transfer with the lamps and accessories business. Lumileds will retain its factories and sites in The Netherlands; the U.S.; Malaysia; Singapore; Germany; and Jiaxing, China.

DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — Integrated energy and chemicals company Aramco has signed an agreement with neutral atom quantum computing company Pasqal to install the first quantum computer in Saudi Arabia. Per the agreement, Pasqal will install, maintain, and operate a 200-qubit quantum computer, which is expected to be deployed in the second half of 2025. According to Aramco, the computer will initially used an approach called "analog mode," and within the following year, the system will be upgraded to a hybrid "analog-digital mode," which is more powerful and able to solve more complex problems.

OSLO, Norway — HySpex, a provider of hyperspectral imaging solutions, has been chosen by a private company as the supplier for a bespoke hyperspectral camera to be utilized in an upcoming in-orbit servicing mission. Launch of the HySpex camera is slated for 2025, with the aim of enhancing the monitoring and detection capabilities in the space environment. The camera covers the wavelength range from 950nm-1700nm and provides 640 spatial pixels in the cross-track direction, 360 spectral channels, and 4.38nm spectral sampling.

The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Light Microscopy Core Facility. Courtesy of Evident.

WALTHAM, Mass. — Microscopy solutions developer Evident has collaborated with the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) to open the Evident Discovery Center at the university’s Light Microscopy Core Facility. The center is equipped with several of Evident's live cell microscopy and multiphoton imaging systems, which expand the facility's research capabilities. The Light Microscopy Core Facility is a shared instrumentation resource across the CU Boulder campus.

Lab employees and guests looking inside the target chamber of the three lasers at JLF. Courtesy of LLNL.

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) has reopened after a four-year refurbishment, supported by LLNL and the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy Sciences. JLF includes the fifth-highest energy laser in the U.S. dedicated to high-energy-density science research, and consists of three operating laser systems and target areas — Janus, Titan, and COMET — and a main laser bay with three different beams: two long pulses and one short pulse.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Diamond Quanta, a semiconductor company targeting solutions for power electronics and quantum photonic devices, has launched out of stealth. The company 's Unified Diamond facilitates true substituent doping in lab-grown diamond fabrication. The technique integrates new elements into a diamond's structure to enable novel properties without disrupting its crystalline integrity, the company said. The technology has applications in AI data centers, high-performance consumer electronics, aerospace, automotive, and energy. The company is led by Adam Khan, who previously served as the founder, chairman, and CEO of AKHAN Semiconductor, a producer of lab-grown diamonds.