News

Bevenic Group Oy seeks to expand in line with its strategy by inorganic as well as organic means. To this end, the company signed an agreement on 26 September 2022
to acquire the shares of Oplatek Group Oy, a manufacturer of photonics solutions.

The acquisition complements and expands Bevenic Group’s service offering to its existing customers and creates opportunities for new customer relationships. The businesses will benefit from synergies in manufacturing processes and customer relationship management. The merger will make the company a unique player in the market and enable it to reach the position of “value-added partner” in its customer relationships more quickly.

Bevenic Group is an innovative group of companies that works as a strategic partner to its customers, developing, preparing and providing services that the customer needs throughout the life cycle of each product.

Photonics Finland member Oplatek Group Oy is the leading Finnish solution provider in the field of photonics, with almost 40 years of experience. The company designs and manufactures demanding optic, fibre-optic and optomechanical products for industrial applications. Oplatek also offers its customers a diverse range of services, from product development to testing, production and quality management.

“Oplatek Group will support and expand Bevenic Group’s offering. Oplatek is a recognised and leading manufacturer and service provider in the field of photonics. As a well-managed and organised company, Oplatek will fit right in with the other units in Bevenic Group,” says Jukka Rautiainen, the CEO of Bevenic Group, describing the new partnership.

“I believe that this acquisition will further strengthen our position in the market, which we have been building up for almost 40 years. Bevenic Group will be a good home for Oplatek,” says Jori Waissi, the Chair of Oplatek Group’s Board of Directors and owner of the company
since 1993.

“We are happy to become part of Bevenic Group. The merger will expand Oplatek Group’s contact surface to new customer relationships and provide opportunities to offer a diverse range of services to existing customers. We look forward to working together, and we believe that we will fit in seamlessly with the new group,” says Jyrki Huttunen, the CEO of Oplatek Group.

Further information:

Jukka Rautiainen 040 521 6050

jukka.rautiainen@bevenicgroup.com

Bevenic Group provides its customers with innovative and high-quality design and contract manufacturing. Bevenic Group’s companies – Bevenic Heatterm Oy, Bevenic Elektropoint Oy, Bevenic Combinent Oy and Bevenic
Avatron Oy – reliably and flexibly provide customer-specific products and services for various sectors of industry. The Group has net sales of approximately EUR 25 million, 100 personnel, and operations in five locations: Loviisa, Porvoo, Vantaa, Hollola and Kuopio.

www.bevenic.fi

Oplatek Group Oy designs and manufactures demanding optic, fibre-optic and optomechanical products for industrial applications. Oplatek offers its customers a diverse range of services, from product development to testing, production and quality management. The company has more than 100 satisfied customers annually from industries such as the measuring instrument and laser manufacturing sectors. Almost 50 per cent of the company’s net sales come from direct exports, with 90 per cent ultimately sold in international markets by customers. Oplatek is the leading player in Finland and among the leading companies designing and manufacturing industrial optics in Scandinavia. The company is the only commercial entity in Finland with the capability to produce specialty optical fibre on an industrial scale.

www.oplatek.com

Photonics Finland and the Flagship for Photonics Research and Innovation PREIN co-organized the Optics and Photonics Days (OPD 2022) in Tampere on September 6-8.

The winners of both categories, Company of the Year and Dissertation of the Year in the field of photonics were announced at the event.

The doctoral thesis of PhD Antti Moilanen titled “Bose -Einstein condensation in plasmonic lattices” Aalto University was chosen as the photonics dissertation of the year 2022.

The doctoral research deals with plasmonics , i.e. the interaction of light with metallic nano-sized structures.

This dissertation introduces the first Bose-Einstein condensate in a plasmonic system and investigates the properties of the condensate both in the weak and strong coupling regimes. The condensate studied in this work is half a millimeter long, making it reportedly the largest luminous condensate to date. In addition, the dissertation presents a new theoretical model for strongly coupled organic systems.

Room temperature operation, robustness, and high luminosity of the samples provides a promising platform for fundamental studies of quantum dynamics in non-equilibrium systems. The coherent light produced by the condensate can potentially be utilized, for example, in the fields of sensing, optical communications, and quantum information technology.

Read more in the Aalto University’s dissertation bulletin :
https://www.aalto.fi/en/events/defence-of-doctoral-thesis-in-the-field-of-applied-physics-msc-antti-moilanen

Dissertation (pdf): https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/109637

The best dissertation is selected by Photonics Finland’s academic advisory board, which represents all universities conducting photonics research in Finland.

Academic Advisory Board of Photonics Finland

• Chairman: Professor Mircea Guina, Tampere University
• Timo Aalto, VTT, Espoo
• Tapio Fabritius, University of Oulu
• Janne Ihalainen, University of Jyväskylä
• Antti Salminen, University of Turku
• Zhipei Sun, Aalto University
• Ari Friberg, University of Eastern Finland (UEF)
• Markku Vainio, University of Helsinki
• Marianne Hiltunen, VTT, Oulu
• Vesa Virtanen, University of Oulu, Kajaani

Moilanen’s dissertation was the only one that received full marks from all evaluators for the scientific impact of the work. The subject of the dissertation covers the topics of optical physics, plasmonics and Bose -Einstein condensation, also experimentally. The work includes several new experimental demonstrations. The dissertation is detailed, extensive and very well structured – all in all, impressive also in terms of the author’s own contribution. The articles of the dissertation have been published in highly respected journals ( Nature Physics , Nature Communications, Nano Letters and 2 Physical Review Letters), which are all journals of the highest publication category.

The doctoral thesis and company of the year in the field of photonics are selected annually in connection with the Optics and Photonics Days (OPD)

More information:

Dr. Antti Moilanen
ETH Zurich
Switzerland
amoilanen@ethz.ch

Juha Purmonen
Executive Director, Photonics Finland
050 354 3832
juha.purmonen@photonics.fi

Professor Mircea Guina
University of Tampere
+358 408490004
mircea.guina@tuni.fi

Photonics Finland

An industry-led innovation ecosystem that brings together Finnish photonics education, research, product development, industry, end users and services. Photonics Finland represents companies and operators in the Finnish photonics industry, promoting the industry’s development and visibility both nationally and internationally. More information: www.photonics.fi .

PREIN, the flagship of photonics research and innovation

PREIN is a center of expertise in light-based technologies that connects different disciplines, companies and social actors. The flagship of photonics is coordinated by the University of Tampere and other partners are Aalto University, the University of Eastern Finland and the Technical Research Center VTT. Photonics’ flagship PREIN brings together the resources and infrastructures of partners, covering the entire value chain from basic research to applied research, product development and commercialization. More information: www.prein.fi

Jobs in the photonics industry are published in aggregate on the Photonics Job Board website

Read more on the Photonics Job Board: https://prein.fi/home/news-and-events/news/job-board-photonics-launched

View published jobs: https://www.photonics.fi/jobboard/

Espoo, Finland – September 2022 – Photonics Finland has named Dispelix Oy Company of the Year. The announcements were made at the Optics and Photonics Days (OPD 2022), which were co-organized by Photonics Finland and Finnish Flagship for Photonics Research and Innovation (PREIN).

“Our team has worked in photonics for a long time, so this award from these prestigious organizations means a lot to us. Photonics is one of the major enabling technologies for the devices of the future and we will continue to focus and hire experts in this area,” said Antti Sunnari, CEO and Co-founder, Dispelix Oy. “Our company has grown a lot this year, we have hired many new employees, and will be bringing on even more throughout the rest of 2022. Photonics Finland has been a great partner as we continue to recruit talent across multiple areas of our business.”

“We are proud to have named Dispelix Oy as company of the year,” said Juha Purmonen, Executive Director, Photonics Finland. “The company’s products represent the next generation in Photonics and waveguide design. At under 1mm with single layer technology that doesn’t compromise full color, image quality, clear eye contact, and field of view, they are the experts in this space and are poised to be a global leader in the waveguide market.”

Dispelix product development and a large part of its operations are based in Finland. The company has grown rapidly and recruited experts in the photonics field not only in Finland but also succeeded in attracting top-class expats to Finland as well. In addition, Dispelix has actively participated in the advancement of the Finnish photonics community.

About Photonics Finland

An industry-led innovation ecosystem that brings together Finnish photonics education, research, product development, industry, end users and services. Photonics Finland represents companies and operators in the Finnish photonics industry, promoting the industry’s development and visibility both nationally and internationally.

More information: www.photonics.fi

About the Flagship for Photonics Research and Innovation

PREIN, the flagship of photonics research and innovation

PREIN is a center of expertise in light-based technologies that connects different disciplines, companies and social actors. The flagship of photonics is coordinated by the University of Tampere and other partners are Aalto University, the University of Eastern Finland and the Technical Research Center VTT. Photonics’ flagship PREIN brings together the resources and infrastructures of partners, covering the entire value chain from basic research to applied research, product development and commercialization.

More information: www.prein.fi

About Dispelix

Dispelix Oy is an advanced waveguide designer and manufacturer delivering next-generation visual solutions for consumer as well as enterprise AR and MR wearables. The company’s patented single layer DPX waveguides are the thinnest on the market and do not compromise full color, image quality, clear eye contact, and field of view. They bring unmatched image quality, performance and visual fidelity combined with mass manufacturability to scale for even the largest vendors. Led by the world’s most sought-after experts in optics, photonics and manufacturing, Dispelix is headquartered in the technology hub of Espoo, Finland with field offices throughout the United States, China and Taiwan. Learn more at dispelix.com.

More information:

Michael Volpatt, Dispelix
+1 415 994 8864
Michael@larkinvolpatt.com

Juha Purmonen
Executive Director, Photonics Finland
050 354 3832
juha.purmonen@photonics.fi

Kristiina Pispala
PREIN Communication Specialist
040 191 8882
Kristiina.pispala@tuni.fi

Vuoden fotoniikka-alan yritykseksi valittiin Dispelix Oy

Photonics Finland ja fotoniikan lippulaiva PREIN järjestivät Optiikan ja Fotoniikan päivät (OPD 2022) syyskuun 6.-8. päivinä Tampereella. Tilaisuudessa julkistettiin sekä fotoniikan alan Vuoden yritys että Vuoden väitöskirja.

Vuoden 2021 fotoniikkayritykseksi valittiin Dispelix Oy, joka on suomalaisperustainen lisätyn todellisuuden älylasien näyttöteknologiaa kehittävä yritys. Dispelixin tuotekehitys ja iso osa toiminnoista on Suomessa. Yritys on kasvanut erittäin voimakkaasti ja se on rekrytoinut fotoniikka-alan osaajia Suomesta sekä onnistunut houkuttelemaan kovanluokan osaajia myös Suomeen. Lisäksi Dispelix on osallistunut aktiivisesti Suomen fotoniikkayhteisön kehittämiseen.

”Olemme tehneet pitkään töitä fotoniikan parissa, joten kyllä tämä Photonics Finlandin myöntämä palkinto merkitsee meille paljon. Näemme, että fotoniikka on yksi suuri mahdollistava teknologia tulevaisuuden laitteille. Yrityksemme on kasvanut tänä vuonna paljon, olemme palkanneet 60 uutta työntekijää, ja siinä Photonics Finland on ollut suurena apuna Job Board-alustan kanssa,” toimitusjohtaja Antti Sunnari Dispelixista kertoo. 

Vuoden fotoniikka-alan väitöskirja ja yritys valitaan vuosittain Optiikan ja Fotoniikan päivien (OPD) yhteydessä.

Within the record breaking numbers of participants, sold out OPD 2022 was held 6. – 8. September in Tampere, Finland. The event gathered experts from Industry and Academy, students, and companies from all parts of Europe to enjoy the excellent program and discussions together with photonics community in Finland.

Optics and Photonics Days in numbers

• 340 registered participants (Offical participant list is available only for registered attendees)
  • 150 persons from Academy (incl. 70 students)
  • 190 persons from Industry (photonics and photonics enabling companies)
• 140 persons in PREIN flagship networking event and panel discussion
• 80 persons in Student meet up event
• 70 persons in Women in Photonics session
• 225 persons in Networking Dinner
• 31 companies as an Exhibitor

Optics and Photonics Days presentations

• 12 industrial oral presentations
• 16 academic oral presentations
• 4 panel discussions
• 75 poster presentations

Optics and Photonics Days Awards

This year OPD Awards were shared in three categories:

• The Company of The Year 2021
• The Best Doctoral Thesis 2021
• The Best OPD2022 poster Awards (3 posters)

Photonics Company of the Year 2021 is Dispelix Oy!

In traditional OPD Networking Dinner Photonics Finland member company Dispelix was nominated as a Photonics Company of the Year 2021! Dispelix CEO Antti Sunnari received the Award.
Dispelix is a designer and fabless manufacturer of mass-manufacturable diffractive waveguide displays and display modules for use in augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) eyewear and headsets.
The company has been growing significantly during years and recruiting actively, attracted new funding and persistently developed its technology for the markets. Also company has been actively communicating about Finnish photonics and being active in Finnish photonics community.

Photonics Doctoral Thesis Award to PhD Antti Moilanen, Aalto University!

Academy Advisory Board of Photonics Finland awarded PhD Antti Moilanen, Aalto University of his Doctoral Thesis “Bose-Einstein condensation in plasmonic lattices” with maximum grades for scientific impact from all evaluators.

The Best OPD2022 Poster Awards!

OPD2022 Best Poster Award nominations for Shambhavee Annurakshita from Tampere University , Anar Ospanova from University of Eastern Finland and for Vladimir Kornienko from Aalto University.

The Winning Poster themes

• Shambhavee Annurakshita – Revealing hierarchically structured domains of persistent luminescent microparticles using second-harmonic generation microscopy
• Anar Ospanova – Transmission properties of self-compelementary metamaterials via Babinet principle
• Vladimir Kornienko – Correlation-enhanced target detection in the optical range
  

Photonics Finland Congratulates all for excellent contribution towards Photonics and activity among its community in Finland!

What is Optics and Photonics Days
Optics and Photonics Days (OPD) is an annual main event for Optics and Photonics in Finland. The event delivers the latest findings and research results performed within the Academy and Industry. Program consists of submitted contributions as well as invited Industry and Academy talks and panel discussions.

Other related events during the OPD are Get Together, Networking dinner, Nordic photonics meeting, Students meet-up, Job fair, OPD exhibition, PREIN Flagship networking event, Women in photonics and Poster session.

The unique part of OPD is that for participants it offers cozy and welcoming atmosphere to create new partnerships and connections but also to do business while enjoying the company of fellow experts from academy and industry.

The Start Up Fund Joensuu and the North Karelia Growth Fund have both invested EUR 100,000 in Photonics Finland member SeeTrue Technologies, which produces eye tracking technology. The company’s current owners also took part with an investment of EUR 150,000. Investors believe that the company has the potential to become a leading company in its sector.

SeeTrue Technologies specialises in eye tracking technology: the company produces solutions for various applications based on the company’s software and electronics development. The company’s operations are boosted by new investments totalling EUR 460,000. The Start Up Fund Joensuu and the North Karelia Growth Fund have both invested EUR 100,000 in the company. In addition, SeeTrue’s current owners and employees invest a total of EUR 150,000, and Business Finland is involved in supporting the business with EUR 110,000 in development and research funding.

Founded in 2018, the company’s business operations are based on long-term research activities in eye tracking technology and a team of top experts. At the moment, SeeTrue employs seven employees, but actively recruits new skills to the team and seeks growth.

“International markets, such as the United States and Asia, are important to us because they are the main manufacturing countries for VR and AR equipment. Typical clients for this type of technology are international electronic giants: that’s who we are aiming for now and in the future”, says Roman Bednarik, founding member of SeeTrue.

Implementation sectors for eye tracking vary from operating rooms to lumbering sites

SeeTrue’s goal is to be able to offer the world’s best eye tracking solutions as a whole.

“We have developed solutions for, for example, operating rooms: health care is a critical sector of application as it cannot afford mistakes. We are already particularly good at the stability and practicality of eye tracking. We want to be a leading player in eye tracking technology, and as VR and AR applications become more common, we are already involved in market development, because the features of our technology also work perfectly on consumer devices”, Bednarik explains.

Eye tracking technology can help optimise the displays of devices that use augmented reality, help to understand the user better and use eyes to control the devices. SeeTrue believes in the extensive possibilities of technology in industry and ultimately also in consumer applications. Bednarik cites the forest industry as an example of a significant industry in Finland where eye tracking can be utilised in the future.

“In the cab of a forest harvester, the operator’s hands are occupied at the controls of the device – but what if we can use smart eye tracking sensors? We would get a better idea of when the driver wants to do something, when they are ready to act, if they are tired, and so on. This increases both machine and operator productivity.”

Funds rely on opportunities to become a world leader

SeeTrue fund investors have strong confidence in the company’s potential. Kaj Hagros, Managing Director of Redstone Nordics, which administers the North Karelia Growth Fund, emphasises that this type of university-oriented deep-tech projects are an interesting investment target for the fund.

“Photonics is one of the strengths of Joensuu’s scientific community, and SeeTrue Technologies is an excellent example of this. We believe that SeeTrue’s software and hardware expertise will generate promising global product partnerships”, Hagros stated.

Kari Pulkkinen, the growth coach of Business Joensuu and the Start Up Fund Joensuu, is also excited to participate in the development of SeeTrue’s business.

“SeeTrue has a top performing team and technology that has a lot of applications and markets around the world. We believe that the company has the opportunity to reach its goal and become a globally significant player in its field.”

Business Finland Senior Advisor, Jani Jokitalo, describes SeeTrue’s growth potential as follows:

”SeeTrue Technologies Oy is a good example of the Finnish deep tech start-up, whose product development is based on decades of research. The company’s solutions are top-of-the-line in their field, and potential customers are large international companies, which means that turnover can develop exponentially if sales succeed.”

Further information:

Kari Pulkkinen
Fund Manager & Growth Coach, Business Joensuu
kari.pulkkinen@businessjoensuu.fi, +358 50 4068716

Kaj Hagros
Managing Partner, Managing Director, Redstone Nordics
kaj.hagros@redstone.vc, +358 40,849 1749

Roman Bednarik
Founding Member & Managing Director, SeeTrue Technologies Oy
roman@seetruetechnologies.com, +358 41 4306116

Start Up Fund Joensuu

The Start Up Fund Joensuu helps start-up companies grow, employ and internationalise. The Fund obtains its capital from the City of Joensuu and private investors. The fund is managed by Joensuun Startup Kehitys Oy, a subsidiary of Business Joensuu. The Fund’s capital is EUR 2.5 million and its typical investment is EUR 50,000 – 200,000. Together with Business Joensuu’s Business Accelerator and internationalisation services, the Fund supports the domestic and international growth of its target companies. The Fund is an avenue for companies’ second phase funding round. While the Fund is not subject to any field-specific restrictions, its main focus is on companies that specialise in digitalisation, the forest bioeconomy, and materials and innovative technology. Target companies must operate in Joensuu, want to be located in Joensuu or have a connection with the Joensuu region at the operative activity level.

Redstone as a company

Redstone is a Berlin venture capital company that manages a large number of venture capital funds. Redstone is a general partner of the North Karelia Growth Fund. The North Karelia Growth Fund invests in newly established young companies, especially in the fields of digitalisation, forestry, bioeconomy, photonics, tourism, creative industries and materials research.

SeeTrue Technologies

SeeTrue Technologies is a company developing eye tracking technology established in Joensuu in 2018. SeeTrue develops the world’s most advanced and stable eye-tracking sensors and applications, backed by decades of research and experience in computational optics, machine vision and applied eye tracking.

Photonics4Industry (P4I) creates new partnerships and help companies enter new markets by providing access to project funding along with research and business development opportunities. P4I is coordinated by European clusters from Austria, Germany, France, Lithuania and Finland.

Key Benefits 

• New kind of Digital platform including 20 new joint-services *Upcoming*
• Access to project funding opportunities
• Access to photonics research to business development opportunities
• Business-to-business networking and matchmaking

Call for photonics companies in Helsinki and Tampere region! Invite P4I partners and companies to visit! *Inform 18th July at the latest*

The first ClusterXChange event will take place in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland on September 7-9. Companies from other EU countries and P4I partners are joining to the Optics & Photonics Days and they also participates to company visits in Helsinki and Tampere region. Invite P4I partners and companies to visit! As a co-host you will have an opportunity to network, promote, and create new knowledge and business for your company! For more information contact caroline.amiot@photonics.fi or call +354 40 412 6653. Also follow P4I on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Photonics4Industry Partners

• Visoriai Information Technology Park – Toolas cluster
• Photonics Austria
• Photonics Bretagne
• Photonics BW E.V.
• Photonics Finland

To help PhD students in the development of their research and career, the European Optical Society, EOS, offers them to participate in a student club. EOS Student Clubs are managed by PhD students and we are happy to introduce to you the recently elected executives of the EOS – Finnish Student Club

President is junior researcher Isaac Doughan, vice president is postdoctoral researcher PhD Ana Gebejes, secretary is junior researcher Dipanjan Das, IT administration is junior researcher MSc. Kabusure Mogasa and financial secretary is junior researcher MSc. Mohammad Al lakki. All of them work at the University of Eastern Finland, Department of Physics and Mathematics and you can read more about their work at the clubs webpage.

EOS-FSC will focus its activities on connecting peers in optics and photonics. This year two of those are already in progress. EOS-FSC will co-chair the Early Stage Researcher Session at EOSAM in Porto, 12-16.09.2022. Also, EOS-FSC is co-organizing a student session at the OPD2022 in Tampere, 6-8.09.2022.   

We invite all students living and studying in Finland to get involved in EOS-FSC. Students can join EOS-FSC by joining Photonics Finland.

The Photonics Company of the year 2021 Varjo Technologies is well-known for its high-performance devices offering human-eye resolution with strong foothold in the global VR/XR industry among major technology brands. 

“We believe that Finland has a great network of companies and teams, all supporting and supplementing each other”, summarizes Technology Director Osku Sahlsten from Varjo.

Working with industry-leading companies such as Volvo Cars, Kia, Aston Martin, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Saab has shown that high-performance virtual and mixed reality is becoming a very powerful tool for professionals to work, train, design, and collaborate. 

Read full story from Photonics Finland members magazine Fotoni 1/2022 Here.