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Jake Saltzman
Photonics Media

Jake SaltzmanJake Saltzman serves as managing editor, Photonics Spectra, overseeing content and production for Photonics Media's flagship publication. Saltzman previously led news coverage responsibilities for Photonics Spectra, Vision Spectra, and BioPhotonics magazines. He co-hosts the "All Things Photonics" podcast.

Jake.Saltzman@Photonics.com

Articles
By Jake Saltzman

December 2025
Photonics breaks through the headwinds
As 2026 approaches, “uncertainty” remains the inescapable sensation. For all that 2025 has brought — sweeping cuts to research budgets, global disruptions to supply chains, and...
November 2025
Commercial fusion is a global quest
As industry-galvanizing moments go, the 2022 National Ignition Facility (NIF) experiment that achieved fusion breakeven is an unusual one. While the achievement marked a pivotal moment for the global...
October 2025
Where research innovation meets commercial viability
The long and arduous road from a science and engineering breakthrough to a productized solution isn’t unique to photonics. But in a field such as ours, which is much more easily defined by its...
September 2025
Big plays from some of the industry’s biggest players
There were plenty of hints that July and August would not bring much of a seasonal slowdown this year. A geopolitically charged, economically uncertain spring seemed unlikely to segue into the...
August 2025
Tailoring inroads to the photonics workforce
Contributing editor James Schlett, who authors Photonics Spectra’s annual industry workforce feature, is as adept as any writer at the “show, don’t tell” approach to...
July 2025
Lidar dips below sea level
In the U.S. alone, dozens of firms entered the 2020s with plans to capture share of the lidar market. Almost immediately, the large number of competing companies — many offering similar...
June 2025
Another chance to take the industry’s temperature
A look at the news headlines that ran in the lead-up to LASER World of PHOTONICS 2023 provides convincing evidence that the events of the past portend the future. During spring 2023, bank failures in...
May 2025
Opportunities in metrology
For those who have found the early spring news cycle inconducive to light reading, it is understandable if you missed last month’s release of Invest-NL’s report that scrutinizes the Dutch...
April 2025
The business of photonics: In, since, and beyond the pandemic
Five years since the World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic, COVID-19 remains a catalyst for targeted advancements in science and technology. The pandemic demonstrated that...
March 2025
An era for optical networks
The stories that surround AI models trained on imprecise or incomplete language seem to follow a similar pattern. The model may show some initial degree of aptitude for the target task. Then over...
February 2025
Complementary combinations
By its definition, the notion of “sensor fusion” allows for the possibility of combining data from one sensing modality with virtually any other. Motion tracking provides a classic...
January 2025
The more we know
January issues of Photonics Spectra offer more; in addition to more material, it is our hope that the content that features in our annual “Trends” edition encourages readers to ponder...
December 2024
A familiar theme comes back into focus
Roel Baets’ plenary presentation at Photonics West in January reiterated a common call from the global integrated photonics ecosystem: the need for a robust PICs supply chain. Widely considered...
November 2024
In lieu of a banner year, a watershed moment
On Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2023, the clock started ticking on what would become a seismic 24-hour period. For those of us in North America, it began when we woke up to the news that Pierre Agostini,...
October 2024
Introducing ‘Photonics Spectra Now’
Blink and you may have missed a spirited start to fall 2024 at Photonics Spectra. Following September’s addition of four acclaimed industry leaders to the Photonics Spectra Editorial Advisory...
September 2024
New wisdom abounds
Since its first issue in 1967, Photonics Spectra has been proud to champion advancements in optics and photonics. Today, more than half a century later, this undertaking still serves as this...
August 2024
Escalating efforts to meet workforce demands
Regional clusters are a hallmark of the North American photonics landscape. The cluster model, by its nature, enables individual regions to spearhead scientific progress in the technology areas that...
July 2024
Enabling technologies never sleep
Several ways to chart the progress of a particular technology exist. Awards and accolades provide a measure of mainstream recognition, which is an important consideration for determining the economic...
June 2024
Photonics navigates all conditions
During his appearance on the “All Things Photonics” podcast this spring, Mario Paniccia took the conversation to an unexpected setting: a fruit orchard. It was not a scene — like...
May 2024
A roadblock on the roadmap
Photonics Spectra’s seeming prescience is a fortunate by-product of our monthly publication schedule. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ decision to award Pierre Agostini, Ferenc...
April 2024
Industrial applications command top-tier photonics
The relationship between industrial applications — mainstays such as materials processing, quality control, and chemical analysis — and photonic solutions is hardly steeped in mystery. By...
March 2024
Taking the reins
To glean insight from the subtle distinctions that differentiate one technology from another is a worthy proposition. The newness of a technology and the need to distinguish between the concepts of...
October 2023
Critical Tech, Policy Priorities at the Fore of Second SPIE Summit
Policymakers and appointed officials outlined many of the U.S. government’s foremost priorities in science and technology, joining with leaders from the photonics sector in Washington, D.C.,...
September 2023
Export Controls Re-Sharpen the Optics Industry’s Focus on Alternate Materials
China’s recently issued export controls on two rare-earth metals, gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge), have intensified the scrutiny of the global supply chain for these materials. The Chinese...
July 2023
Optofluidic Micromanipulations Show Aptitude in Laser Biomedicine
Techniques for micromanipulation, including those that rely on optofluidics, are widely adopted for applications in the life sciences, materials science, and colloidal physics. These techniques...
July 2023
What the Fiscal Responsibility Act Portends for Photonics Research
Though the so-called debt limit deal that President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck this spring spared the U.S. from a default on its national debt, the subsequent Fiscal Responsibility...
June 2023
AI Streamlines Inspection in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Visual inspections in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries help to ensure that medications, instruments, and packaged items arrive free of defects for end users. Whether such products are...
May 2023
Photoswitchable Materials Streamline Thermal Regulation
The design and development of functional materials with tunable thermal conductivity — for example, to ensure the thermal dissipation in microelectronics devices — is necessary to prevent...
April 2023
Optical Switching Technique Sets Ultrafast Bar for Data Communications
Researchers working as part of a multi-institution collaboration led by University of Arizona assistant professor Mohammed Hassan achieved what they said are previously unattainable data transfer...
March 2023
iPronics Completes First Shipments of Programmable PICs
Photonic computing company iPronics said it has delivered initial shipments of its programmable photonic microchips. The company, a 2019 spinout of Universitat Politècnica de València,...
March 2023
Dual-Property Coating Combats Fog, Reflections at Same Time
Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF (Fraunhofer IOF) and Friedrich Schiller University Jena developed an optical coating system that combines...
March 2023
Topology-Based Fiber Ensures Robust Performance Amid Distortions
Researchers at the University of Bath fabricated optical fiber that hosts topological supermodes across multiple light-guiding cores. The topological protection of the fibers prevents changes to the...
March 2023
Method Measures Electron Dynamics in Semiconductor Materials
The properties and performance of semiconductor chips powering modern technologies are ultimately determined by free electrons. With the continued miniaturization of electronic and photonic devices,...
November 2022
Deep-Sea Charter Vessel Helps TRUMPF Sidestep Supply Chain Woes
With the effects of a multiyear pandemic and a war in Ukraine continuing to permeate global commerce, logistics operations face a treacherous set of circumstances. For sea freight transportation,...
October 2022
LIDROTEC's Wafer-Dicing Laser Tech Earns $1M at Luminate Finals 2022
Lidrotec, a company that develops wafer-dicing laser technology for the semiconductor industry, took home $1 million in follow-on funding and Company of the Year honors as the winner of...
August 2022
Vision Elevates Robot Performance in Logistics
Allied Market Research in the spring projected that the value of the global logistics automation market would roughly triple from its 2020 value to $147.4 billion by 2030. Even before such high...
July 2022
Broadband Photodetector Opens Up Sensing Possibilities in Robotics
Engineers at the University of Glasgow designed and developed a flexible, broadband photodetector that could be used in an electronic skin for robotics, as well as in other sectors. Such a...
May 2022
Multispectral Inspection Keeps Counterfeiters Away, Forgers at Bay
There is more to a bank note than the numerical figures that appear on it. The elements that go unseen by most are just as important as the clearly visible information on the currency. The U.S....
April 2022
The Russia-Ukraine War Shifts Risks in Global Supply Chains and Markets
The Russian military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 activated a global narrative that could unfold over months and even years. While the eventual scale and outcome of the war remain open questions,...
March 2022
Method Keeps Liquid Marbles Functional for Microfluidic Systems
A research team from Griffith University developed a technique that uses condensation to noninvasively refill liquid marbles with water. The method could improve the viability of applications such as...
February 2022
Kinetic River Advances Compensation-Free Flow Cytometry
Kinetic River Corp. reported that it has advanced its Arno technology for time-resolved cell analysis, developing technology that enables compensation-free, 12-marker flow cytometry assays with just...
February 2022
Fusion Splicing Achieves Low Loss in Spacing-Mismatched Multicore Fibers
Researchers at Fudan University demonstrated low-loss fusion splicing techniques between spacing-mismatched multicore fibers (MCFs). According to the researchers, the work builds on previous studies...
January 2022
In the Quest for a Healthier Grape, AI Uncorks a Defense
Powdery mildew is a costly problem. An outbreak of the plant disease could wipe out an entire greenhouse crop. Treating the mildew with fungicides can cost thousands of dollars, and such treatment...
December 2021
AI, Sensor Fusion Turn the Key to Immersive Vehicle Imaging
When it comes to car buying, one tool is more valuable than the rest: our eyes. For as long as we have bought and sold cars, we have used manual inspection to find the dents and dings that inform our...
November 2021
Integrated Photonics Sector Aims to Bridge Skills Gap
The challenge of finding, recruiting, training, and retaining talent is putting pressure on businesses in every photonics market segment, in all geographic regions. But the skills gap presents...
September 2021
Luminate Finalists Set Sights on $2M, Breakthrough Photonics Solutions
Ten startups from around the world will gather virtually to compete for up to $2 million in follow-on funding from Empire State Development’s Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization...
September 2021
AmeriCOM Unveils Blueprint to Bolster Optics Workforce
The American Center for Optics Manufacturing (AmeriCOM) outlined its plans to support the growing manufacturing requirements of the nation’s optics industry. At the annual meeting of the NY...
August 2021
Smart Device-Enabled Optical Breathalyzer Checks Blood Alcohol Levels
Researchers at Laval University are developing an optical breathalyzer that can be integrated into the screen of a mobile device. This technology could provide an accessible, inexpensive way to check...
July 2021
Optical Technique Measures Chirality Over Broad Wavelength Range
A research team from Politecnico di Milano and the University of Bayreuth (Germany) has developed an approach for the quick measurement of chirality across a broad wavelength range. In molecules,...
July 2021
3D Laser Scanning Improves Wheat Yields
Wheat is the world’s most planted crop, accounting for more than 40% of global protein intake. Helping wheat growers to increase yields, then, is a logical focus to ensure that the...
May 2021
Chevron Turns to Microsoft Custom Analytics to Optimize Panel Inspection
In its U.S.-based refineries, multinational energy company Chevron processes almost 1 million barrels of transportation fuels per day (pre-COVID), producing gasoline, diesel, propane and butane, fuel...
May 2021
Retroreflective Material Helps Robots to Analyze Surroundings
A material developed and introduced by researchers at the University of Luxembourg will help robots analyze and understand their surroundings. The material relies on retroreflective spheres made from...
April 2021
Reverse-Tapering Approach Links Structurally Dissimilar Optical Fibers
A team of researchers from Fudan University has achieved robust mode matching between structurally dissimilar optical fibers, using a “reverse-tapering” approach to deliver ultralow-loss...
April 2021
Single-Pixel Detector Classifies Images Using Diffractive Optical Network
A single-pixel machine vision framework leverages deep-learning designed optical networks to bypass the need for an image sensor-array or digital processor. The system, developed in the lab of UCLA...
February 2021
II-VI Purchase Offer for Coherent Magnifies Differences, Similarities in Three Existing Bids
Analysts and those from across the photonics landscape were digesting news of MKS Instruments’ $6 billion bid to acquire Coherent early last week — a move that itself countered a $5.7...
February 2021
MKS’ Acquisition of Coherent Would Have Ripple Effect on Ultrafast Laser Sector
Coherent’s confirmation Monday that members of its board are actively reviewing an unsolicited purchase offer from MKS Instruments came less than three weeks after Coherent and Lumentum...
January 2021
For Lumentum, Coherent Acquisition Is Timely, Complementary, Analysts Say
Following Lumentum’s $5.7 billion acquisition of laser pioneer Coherent last week, analysts speaking to Photonics Media said the deal is poised to accelerate Lumentum’s presence in the...
December 2020
3D-Printed Lens Design Improves Data Transfer Possibilities
A team of researchers from the University of Illinois has developed a spherical lens capable of allowing incoming light — from any direction — to be focused on the lens’s surface...
December 2020
Optical Nanosensor Detects, Monitors Arsenic Level in Plants
A novel plant nanobionic optical sensor, capable of both detecting and, in real time, monitoring levels of arsenic in underground environments, exhibits changes in fluorescence intensity to indicate...
December 2020
Photonic Return Charts Course for Laser-Ranging Experiments
Extensively in the last 50 years, intermittently in the last decade, and with newfound success in receiving a return on their efforts this past summer, NASA scientists have taken aim at the moon with...
December 2020
Hollow-Core Fibers Outperform Silica Glass Counterparts
Researchers from the University of Southampton Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have introduced three unique hollow-core fiber designs that each exhibit losses comparable to or lower than those...
November 2020
Coherent Points to Growth in Defense, MicroLEDs as Company Starts Fiscal Year 2021
Coherent Inc. will acquire EOT, a maker of optical isolators and fiber components, supporting initiatives and applications in the domestic directed energy market. Coherent President and CEO Andy...
November 2020
Wearable Sensor Could Increase Awareness of UV Exposure
A custom bio-ink developed by Clarkson University researchers could enable wearable sensors designed to increase the wearer’s awareness of UV exposure. Noting the prevalence of skin...
November 2020
Large-Area Organic Photodiodes Offer Cost-effective Alternative to Silicon Sensors
A research team at Georgia Tech has demonstrated that large-area organic photodiodes, produced from solutions at low temperatures, can detect several hundred thousand photons every second. The...
November 2020
State of Laser Industry Contributes to Cautious Report, Forecast for IPG Photonics
High-performance laser manufacturer IPG Photonics is maintaining a wide guidance range moving into the year’s final quarter, after reporting a total revenue beat (IPG reported $318 million in...
October 2020
Microscopy Advancement Expands Camera-based 3D Imaging
Researchers at Boston University introduced a multifocus optical microscopy technique for simultaneously acquiring images at differing depths. The method can be added to existing camera-based...
October 2020
Demand for Consumer Tech, E-Commerce Propel Cognex to 'Fantastic Quarter'
Strong earnings in consumer technology, logistics, and e-commerce, highlighted by Greater-China-based customers generating a three-month, year-over-year revenue increase of more than 150%, propelled...
October 2020
Coherently Combined, 10.4-kW Laser Delivers Record Power
Coherent beam combining has helped produce the new ultrafast fiber laser introduced by the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (University of Jena) and...
October 2020
Method for Colloidal Diamond Construction Unlocks Long-Coveted and Wide-Ranging Photonic Potential
Researchers in David Pine’s NYU laboratory have developed and introduced a method for the reliable creation of colloidal diamonds. Using a steric interlock mechanism to spontaneously produce...
September 2020
NIH Grant Supports Light, Ultrasound Combination in Breast Imaging
National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to SUNY Buffalo is supporting the college’s development of a portable breast imaging device called a dual scan mammoscope (DSM). By pairing light...
September 2020
SunDensity’s Photonic Smart Coating Technology Takes Top Prize at Luminate NY’s Finals Competition
SunDensity, a developer of photonic smart coatings (PSC) technology, has earned $1 million in funding as the winner of the third cohort of the Luminate NY Program’s Innovation Finals...
September 2020
Luminate NY Innovation Finals Showcase Range and Depth of Photonic Innovation
For the first time, Luminate NY is holding its Innovation Finals Competition in a virtual format, at an event on the opening day of The Optical Society’s (OSA) Frontiers in Optics + Laser...
September 2020
Potential of Periodic Array System Supports Nanophotonics Applications
A research team from the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the Autonomous University of Madrid has applied periodic arrays containing nanoparticles of different sizes — as opposed to more...
September 2020
Structural Color Production Process Supports Soft Photonics Applications
By coating droplets of an aqueous solution of hydroxpropyl cellulose with silica nanoparticles, and placing these “liquid marbles” inside an organic solvent, scientists have successfully...
August 2020
Mesoscale Photonic Method Increases Range of Optical Tweezers
A team from Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), working with scientists from the V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has increased the...
August 2020
Marine Algae Optical Fiber Boasts Applications in Range of Medical and Scientific Environments
Researchers at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil and Gunma University in Japan have designed an optical fiber from agar, the natural gelatin obtained from marine algae. In addition to...
July 2020
Mirror Specifications and Energy-Efficient Design Support Increasingly Portable System for Laser Precision at Room Temperature
A team of MIT physicists, working with researchers from Louisiana State University (LSU) and Crystalline Mirror Solutions (CMS, now part of Thorlabs Inc.) has designed a quantum “light...
July 2020
Improved Illumination Achieved Via Superresolution Microscope Design
By increasing the uniformity of light dispersed across the field of view, a team of biophysicists from the Laboratory of Experimental Biophysics (LEB) at École Polytechnique Federale de...
July 2020
ASML Set to Expand with Acquisition of Berliner Glas
ASML, a global leader in the development of lithographic equipment and chip-making materials, has acquired full shares of the Berliner Glas Group, the German-based provider of optical key components,...
July 2020
Computer Clock Synchronization Allows Optical Switching in Data Centers
A University College London (UCL) and Microsoft-led research team has introduced a new technique for simultaneously synchronizing the clocks of thousands of computers, in less than one nanosecond....

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