Industry News

On July 28, 2026, researchers from KAIST in South Korea released a new non-destructive inspection solution combining terahertz waves and optical frequency combs for lithium battery production. It accurately detects nanoscale thickness irregularities on battery electrodes, which are the root cause of EV battery thermal runaway and fires. Slight unevenness of electrode thickness leads to uneven current flow during charging and discharging, creating concentrated hot spots that greatly raise fire risks for power batteries.

Modern optical systems require light sources that can deliver high stability, broad spectral coverage, and reliable performance under demanding operating conditions. Traditional light sources often struggle with limitations such as narrow bandwidth, unstable output power, and insufficient coherence control. An SLD Light Source provides an effective solution by combining the advantages of semiconductor technology with broadband optical output.

As global data traffic continues to grow, optical communication networks require higher transmission capacity, longer distances, and more reliable signal performance. An Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) has become one of the most important technologies for solving signal attenuation problems in fiber optic systems. By amplifying optical signals directly without converting them into electrical signals, EDFAs help communication networks achieve efficient long-distance transmission with improved stability and reduced complexity.

The world's first S+C+L tri-band (short-wave, conventional communication, and long-wave bands) ultra-low-loss multi-core optical cable line was recently completed and launched in Qingdao, Shandong. This new type of optical cable line breaks through the transmission capacity limits of traditional optical fibers, marking a new stage of commercialization for China's space-division multiplexing fiber and multi-band integration technologies.

Passive components, such as isolators, account for approximately 11% of the total bill of materials (BOM) cost for optical modules. With the explosive growth in demand for high-speed optical modules—such as 800G and 1.6T variants—the market demand for optical isolators, which serve as critical supporting components, has surged. Currently, total industry demand exceeds existing supply capacity by more than twofold, plunging the entire supply chain into a severe crisis characterized by shortages and supply disruptions.