The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) was hosted at the Los Angeles Convention Center from March 17-19, 2026. As the world’s largest annual event in optical communications, the OFC not only celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 but also attracted interest at OFC 2026 due to the rise of generative AI technology. This year, over 706 industry leaders from 91 countries worldwide convened, along with 115 guest speakers and more than 17,800 attendees. Together, they addressed key global issues, including quantum networking, artificial inte...

Applied Optoelectronics, an optical products manufacturer, announced the release of a high power and narrow linewidth laser specifically designed for LiDAR applications, particularly for automotive use. Current automotive LIDAR systems are based on near infrared lasers, however these lasers are not eye safe and therefore are limited in terms of emitted power. This power limitation, in turn, restricts the effective sensing range of the LIDAR system. AOI’s laser operates at longer wavelengths near 1550-nm where eye-safe emission limits are much higher and therefore...