Networking, new products, and Nobel laureates complement the broad technical program and four exhibitions at the most exciting week in optics and photonics

Registration has opened for SPIE Photonics West 2025, which will run from 25 to 30 January at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The largest annual conference and exhibition in optics and photonics, Photonics West brings together researchers, innovators, engineers, and business leaders from across the globe for an exciting week of research-sharing, collaboration opportunities, and innovation-inspiring exchanges. This year, the week will include 4,500-plus technical presentations across more than 100 technical conferences, as well as hosting over 1,200 companies in four focused exhibitions.

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SPIE Photonics West welcomes the optics and photonics community to San Francisco's Moscone Center. (Photo: Business Wire)

SPIE Photonics West has four major application areas showcasing the latest technologies and discoveries that utilize optics and photonics. BiOS highlights new research in biophotonics, biomedical optics, and imaging for diagnostics and therapeutics; LASE focuses on the laser industry and its diverse applications; OPTO covers optoelectronics, photonic materials, and optical devices; and Quantum West features quantum 2.0 technologies from quantum sensing and information systems to quantum-enabled materials, devices, and biology.

The four exhibitions during Photonics West feature more than 1,200 companies, with industry-focused presentations, product launches, live demonstrations, and cutting-edge technologies representing the diverse and healthy photonics industry.

The BiOS Expo, featuring new and transformative technologies in biomedical optics and healthcare applications, runs 25-26 January. Also open to Photonics West attendees, the AR | VR | MR Exhibition — with a focus on headsets and hardware for XR applications — takes place on 28-29 January. The Quantum West Expo, 28-29 January, will showcase international providers of the latest quantum-enabled and -enabling technologies. And the Photonics West Exhibition, running 28-30 January, encompasses the latest from laser manufacturers and suppliers as well as other innovative optics and photonics devices, components, systems, and services. In addition, the dynamic SPIE industry program offers an informative focus on the markets and applications shaping the photonics industry. A free registration provides access to all four exhibitions and the industry program.

Complementing the wide-ranging SPIE industry program are the Quantum West Business Summit, addressing the latest efforts that are moving quantum technologies to market; the popular Prism Awards gala evening which honors the best industry innovations; and the fast-paced SPIE Startup Challenge, which showcases exciting, emerging companies.

“We’re very excited to welcome the returning and new companies to our exhibitions during the week of Photonics West,” said SPIE Global Exhibition Services Director Bonnie Peterson. “Every year, I'm amazed by the innovations on display, as well as the creativity and ingenuity that our exhibitors bring to their booths and presence on the floor. I know that while we're hard at work putting together four distinct exhibitions – BiOS Expo, AR | VR | MR, Quantum West Expo, and Photonics West – they are working hard to ensure every Photonics West attendee will leave the show with new ideas and product solutions.”

Dynamic Hot Topics and plenary speakers will highlight the latest innovative research breakthroughs, with two Nobel laureates, Moungi Bawendi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Eric Cornell, University of Colorado Boulder, presenting. Fellow plenary speakers include Daniel Elson, Imperial College London; Michalina Gora, Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering; Benjamin Miller, University of Rochester Medical Center; Vivek J. Srinivasan, New York University Grossman School of Medicine; Kate Grieve, Institut de la Vision/INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research, France); Frédéric Leblond, Polytechnic Montréal; Seemantini Nadkarni, Wellman Center for Photomedicine and Harvard Medical School; Paras N. Prasad, University at Buffalo; Naomi J. Halas, Rice University; Joanna Depciuch, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences; Constantin Häfner, Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology; Aiko Narazaki, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan; Nathalie Picqué, Max Born Institute; Henry Helvajian, The Aerospace Corporation; Paul Corkum, University of Ottawa; Alexander Szameit, University of Rostock; Christine Silberhorn, Paderborn University; Tara Fortier, National Institute of Standards and Technology; and Andrew Forbes, University of the Witwatersrand.

Alongside the conferences and exhibitions, Photonics West will also offer 57 technical courses, including six new courses on topics such as designing experiments in optics and photonics, practical applications of the Monte Carlo method in biomedical optics, petawatt lasers, and cleaning basics for optical components and hardware. The wide-ranging educational program complements numerous professional development workshops, a comprehensive job fair, and valuable networking opportunities for technical attendees, SPIE Members, and exhibitors.

Full conference registration for Photonics West also includes access to the co-located three-day SPIE AR | VR | MR event, which focuses on augmented, virtual, and mixed reality and the vital role that optics and photonics play in hardware and headset development. This popular program incorporates industry talks, keynotes, and panels with speakers representing a range of exciting companies alongside a two-day exhibition.

For the second year, SPIE will host its Global Business Forum on 27 January, co-located with Photonics West. This one-day event will a focus on current and emerging trends across the international optics and photonics industry and markets and will provide actionable insights for business leaders, including the release of SPIE’s annual report on the state of the optics and photonics industry. Confirmed speakers include representatives from ASML, MKS Instruments, Thorlabs, Singular Photonics, Needham & Company, Yole Group, Tematys, and Ceres Technology Advisors. Registration for the Global Business Forum is separate from Photonics West and will be available via the event website.

In addition, the week will include a special Women in Optics event on 26 January to celebrate 20 years of the SPIE Women in Optics planner and notebook. The one-day gathering will feature panels and presentations from optics and photonics luminaries who have all been highlighted in the notebook, from ETH Zurich’s Ursula Keller to Johns Hopkins University’s Muyinatu Bell, Edmund Optics’ Marisa Edmund, and ZEISS Group’s Ulrike Boehm. Registration for the Women in Optics celebration is separate from Photonics West and will be available via the event website.

“Photonics West 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting and inspiring week,” said SPIE Senior Director of Technical Programs Marilyn Gorsuch. “As always, it marks the first major community gathering of the year, bringing together a vibrant mix of industry leaders, engineers, and researchers. With its myriad opportunities for discussion, knowledge-sharing, and networking, Photonics West is the place for the global optics and photonics community to kick off a stellar year of innovation and collaboration, and we look forward to hosting you in San Francisco in January.”

For more information and to register, please visit https://spie.org/pw.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has contributed more than $24 million to the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.

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