Myrias Optics Secures $3M to Support Optics Offerings

University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst spinout company Myrias Optics has secured a $3 million seed investment. Myrias, a developer of all-inorganic printed meta-optics, said that it will use the funding to meet growing customer demand and interest in the company’s structure, materials, and process technology platform.

The company is targeting applications in augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), consumer electronics, machine vision, advanced robotics, automotive light detection and ranging, defense, and aerospace. According to Myrias CEO Patrick Tan, the company already has multiple Tier 1 customers engaged in AR/VR and consumer electronics applications. These applications, he said, can benefit from cost, performance, and lifetime advantages enabled by Myrias’ IP over existing etched or printed polymer-based processes.
UMass Amherst professor James Watkins displays an example of the advanced optical components that Myrias Optical is capable of producing. Courtesy of Thom Kendall, University of Massachusetts.

UMass Amherst professor James Watkins displays an example of the advanced optical components that Myrias Optical is capable of producing. Courtesy of Thom Kendall, University of Massachusetts.

UMass Amherst professor and Myrias Optics founder James Watkins. Courtesy of UMass/Thom Kendall.

Asia Optical Inc. led the investment round, with participation from UMass Amherst, Tenon Ventures, and HOSS Investment Inc. The company, founded by UMass faculty member James Watkins, plans to manufacture in Western Massachusetts.

In addition, development and adoption of the optical technologies developed by the Watkins Group will benefit from a $5 million award from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative announced in October. The grant will enable UMass Amherst to establish an open-access advanced optics fabrication and characterization facility on its campus and to acquire nano-imprint lithography equipment.

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Published: December 2023

Glossary

seed: 1. In glass, a solid inclusion having a small diameter. 2. A particular, single crystal that, after undergoing the Czochralski method, evolves into large single crystals.
meta-optics: Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and manipulate light at the nanoscale level. Unlike traditional optics, which typically involve bulky lenses and mirrors, meta-optics aims to achieve similar functionalities using ultrathin, planar structures composed of subwavelength nanostructures. Metasurfaces are typically composed of arrays of...
metalens: A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other transparent materials, metalenses do not rely on the curvature of their surface to refract or focus light. Instead, they use carefully engineered patterns of nanostructures, such as nanoscale antennas or dielectric structures, to control the phase and amplitude of light across the lens's surface....
lithography: Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the surface of substrates, typically silicon wafers. It involves the transfer of a desired pattern onto a photosensitive material called a resist, which is coated onto the substrate. The resist is then selectively exposed to light or other radiation using a mask or reticle that contains the pattern of interest. The lithography process can be broadly categorized into several...
augmented reality: Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated graphics, images, or data, with the real-world environment in real-time. AR enhances the user's perception of the physical world by overlaying or combining digital content onto the user's view of the real world, often through devices like smartphones, tablets, smart glasses, or specialized AR headsets. Key features and principles of augmented reality: Real-time...
virtual reality: Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be interacted with and explored by an individual using electronic devices, such as a headset with a display. VR aims to create a sense of presence, immersing users in a computer-generated world that can be entirely fictional or a replication of the real world. It often involves the use of specialized hardware and software to provide a fully immersive and interactive experience. ...

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