TRUMPF & STOPA Extend Partnership; Thorlabs Acquires Nu Opto: Week in Brief: 10/2/25

Photonics.com
Oct 2025BRUSSELS, Oct. 3, 2025 — Photonics21, a European community of researchers and industries, published a position paper urging the European Commission to create a €2 billion ($2.3M) stand-alone program for photonics in the 2028–2034 budget. The funding is to be channeled through a multiannual financial framework to unlock a further €6 billion to €8 billion ($7 – $9.3 billion) from industry and secure Europe’s place in the global race for technological leadership. The position paper sets out a clear program to keep Europe relevant in the industry and warns that Europe is slowly gaining dependency on China and the US. Photonics21 proposes a class of Photonics Grand Challenge projects ranging from €250 to €900 million ($292 million – $1 billion) public investment in industries of AI, healthcare, defense, space, agrifood, and quantum to deliver market-ready solutions by the end of the 2028–2034 period.

BEVERLY, Mass. — Axcelis, a producer of semiconductor capital equipment, and Veeco, a producer of semiconductor capital and manufacturing equipment, entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger. The merged company, which will serve diverse and expanding end markets, according to a press release, will create the fourth-largest U.S. wafer fabrication equipment supplier by revenue. The combined company is expected to have an enterprise value of approximately $4.4 billion based on Axcelis' and Veeco's closing share prices. Following the closing of the transaction, the combined company will have its headquarters in Beverly, Mass.

STOPA supports manufacturing processes and integrates into TRUMPF's Smart Factory concepts. Courtesy of TRUMPF.

DITZINGEN, Germany — TRUMPF and STOPA, a manufacturer of automated storage systems, are expanding their existing partnership. STOPA supplies storage systems for TRUMPF's smart factory solutions, which are used to automatically load and unload their machines and link them together logistically. TRUMPF aims to strengthen its role as a provider of innovative smart factory solutions. The company has increased its stake in STOPA Anlagenbau GmbH from the current 25.1% 74.9%.

NEWTON, N.J. — Thorlabs acquired Nu Opto, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of acousto-optic components, including modulators. Nu Opto has more than 35 years of expertise in delivering high-quality solutions. Thorlabs plans to use its Melbourne, Florida-based team to produce acousto-optic components for critical applications such as quantum technology and defense.

SHREWSBURY, Mass. — PI (Physik Instrumente) announced progress on its U.S. production facility in Shrewsbury, Mass. The facility will help to reduce the impact of import tariffs, improve supply stability, and enhance local customer support, PI said. Manufacturing at the facility will include advanced motion and automation systems, air bearings, piezoelectric transducers, and nanopositioning components. Beyond production, the Shrewsbury facility will generate high-quality engineering and technology jobs, bolstering the region's advanced manufacturing sector. The facility is scheduled to open next month.

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) opened the Casimir Institute, its research institute for future chips and high-tech systems. Casimir Institute combines three TU/e units: the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute, the High Tech Systems Center, and the Future Chips Flagship. The research institute brings together more than 700 scientists focusing on semiconductors, quantum technology, photonics, advanced materials, high-tech systems, and fundamental research. TU/e is developing a new laboratory and cleanroom facility worth €200 million ($234 million), partly supported by ASML, and is working with TNO on a pilot factory for photonic chips at the High Tech Campus.

Geometric reflective waveguides. Courtesy of SCHOTT.

RYE BROOK, N.Y. — SCHOTT achieved a breakthrough in high-volume production of geometric reflective waveguides, which can be used in augmented reality glasses. SCHOTT reported succesfull scaling of it geometric reflective waveguides to serial production, using its global production network for tasks such as optical glass production to waveguide component assembly. Geometric reflective waveguides are used in the eyepieces of AR wearables to deliver digital overlays in the user’s field of vision with pristine image quality and unparalleled power efficiency, enabling miniaturized and hence fashionable AR glasses, SCHOTT said.

MÉRIGNAC, France — Exosens announced that the Spanish Ministry of Defense signed a supply contract of 17,000 night vision monoculars to its recent acquisition, Night Vision Lasers Spain (NVLS), using Exosens’ 16-mm 4G intensifier tubes. The end products are to be delivered from 2025 to 2028.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — Kopin Corporation entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private investment in public equity financing, expected to result in gross proceeds of approximately $41 million. The funds will be used to advance Kopin’s development of color micro-LED, neural display AI, commercialization of sovereign solutions for micro-displays and optical solutions for first-person visualization for drones, and for general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close as soon as satisfaction of customary closing conditions occurs. The news comes the same month that Kopin received a $15.4 million Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) from the Office of the Secretary of Defense through the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) to develop full-color micro-LED micro-displays tailored for integrated visual AR systems.

Warpspace’s HOCSAI modem, which will make laser satellite communications faster, more secure, and more reliable. Courtesy of Warpspace.

ADELAIDE, Australia — The University of South Australia (UniSA), space start-up RapidBeam, and Japanese space technology company Warpspace, signed an agreement to develop laser communication systems for space applications. This collaboration uses Warpspace’s advanced optical modem, known as HOCSAI. It will be tested at the Australasian Optical Ground Station Network, a laser communications network led by UniSA and spanning Australia and New Zealand. The testing will ensure the technology can connect with different systems, meet international standards, and work reliably in satellite-to-satellite and space-to-ground trials.

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