Advancing photonic sound: PIONEAR releases its second project newsletter

The PIONEAR consortium has released the second edition of its project newsletter, offering an in-depth look at recent technical progress, partner insights, and upcoming dissemination activities. Building on the momentum of the first issue, this new edition provides a comprehensive overview of advancements in the development of the project’s novel photonic microphone, which aims to achieve better-than-human-ear sound quality.

Newsletter Issue 2 (December 2025) highlights several achievements from across the consortium. The Institute of Microtechnology and Photonics (IMP at OST) presents its latest work on optimising mechanical structures and developing a high-precision fibre port for optical coupling. Łukasiewicz – Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics (L-IMIF) reports on its progress in VCSEL coupon manufacturing and the first fully processed VECSEL laser demonstrator. The Lodz University of Technology (TUL) shares updates on the numerical design and testing of semiconductor laser structures.

The newsletter also features a summary of the project’s latest General Assembly meetings, held in Buchs (Switzerland) and Cork (Ireland), where partners reviewed progress, aligned technical priorities, and visited advanced laboratory facilities. A dedicated interview section presents reflections from four consortium members, offering personal insights into the challenges and opportunities of integrating acoustics and photonics technologies in a microscale device.

In addition, readers will find an overview of PIONEAR’s recent outreach activities, including OST’s presentation of its selective laser-induced etching (SLE) process at the 126th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Applied Optics (DGaO). The newsletter also continues the “Meet the partners” series, this time introducing L-IMIF and VIGO Photonics, outlining their roles and contributions to the project.

Finally, the issue lists upcoming events where PIONEAR partners will participate, including SPIE Photonics West 2026, IEEE MEMS 2026, CLEO 2026, and Laser World of Photonics 2027.

The full newsletter is available clicking here or on top of the image. To stay informed about the project’s developments and receive future updates, subscribe to the PIONEAR Newsletter!