SPIE Announces Finalists for 2025 Prism Awards

SPIE has named finalists for the 2025 Prism Awards. The 24 products — from companies ranging from emerging innovators to industry stalwarts — selected in eight categories, will be honored during a Jan. 29 gala evening at SPIE Photonics West. The annual event, which will be celebrating its 17th year, recognizes commercialized innovation in photonics, honoring companies that are bringing transformative products to market.

The 2025 SPIE Prism Awards will honor companies for breakthrough photonics innovations. The awards, presented in a ceremony at Photonics West, will recognize awardees in eight categories. Courtesy of SPIE.

Rapidly developing technology areas such as quantum, sensors, imaging, and biomedical showcase the range and variety of this year's entries and finalists. Newer companies such as Eoptic, Delta Life Science, Ki3 Photonics Technologies, FlulDect, and 2023 SPIE Prism Award winner Qunnect, will share the stage alongside more established companies such as Thorlabs, Leonardo, Trioptics, and NIL Technology. Confirmed presenters for this year’s Prism Awards include Double Helix’s Leslie Kimerling, Edmund Optics’ Katie Schwertz, ETH Zurich’s Ursula Keller, Singular Photonics’ Shahida Imani, Notal Vision’s Nishant Mohan, Ruda Optical’s Kate Medicus, and Thorlabs’ Jennifer Cable.

This year, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, is also bestowing the second SPIE Catalyst Award. This recognition honors for-profit companies with specific social or environmentally focused programs that have had significant positive impact, either within their workplace, on society at large, or on the environment. Finalists for this year’s Catalyst Award are SCHOTT, Thorlabs, and Vacuum Innovations. Jessica Wade, of the Imperial College London, will be presenting the award in this category.

The Award finalists and their competing products and programs, by category:

Biomedical
• Enspectra Health, VIO
• Delta Life Science, inQuiQ®
• Norlase, LYNX

Cameras and Imaging Systems
• Eoptic, Eoptic Cambrian Edge
• NIL Technology, metaEye™ Ultra-Compact Camera
• Thorlabs, Inc., Mini2P

Lasers
• n2-Photonics GmbH, MIKS1_M
• Scantinel Photonics GmbH, Narrow linewidth hybrid-integrated laser
• Thorlabs, Inc., Long-Wave Infrared Supercontinuum Laser (LWIRSC)

Optical Materials and Components
• LightPath Technologies, BDNL Materials
• Omega Optical, DeepUV Transmission Gratings
• xolo GmbH, Xube2 Lens 3D Printer

Quantum Tech
• Ki3 Photonics Technologies Inc., Q-COMB
• Leonardo DRS (Daylight Solutions), Stretto®
• Qunnect, QU-RACK Gotham

Sensors
• EXALOS, 3-fiber SLED Transceiver EXC250033
• FlulDect GmbH, SpheroScan Explorer
• Interherence GmbH, QUSCITE

Software
• BRELYON, BRELYON Visual Engine
• HyperSpectral Corp., SpecAI
• PlanOpSim, PlanOpSim

Test and measurement
• Innovations in Optics, Inc., LumiSun-50 LED Solar Simulator
• Quartus Engineering Inc., OptiQuiver
• TRIOPTICS GmbH, OptiCentric® Bonding 5D MultiAlign

Catalyst
• SCHOTT AG, 100% hydrogen optical glass production
• Thorlabs, Inc., Thorlabs Photonics Learning
• Vacuum Innovations, Vacuum Innovations’ Optical Coating Design & Technology Education