Rising to the Challenge in 2026 at Optikos

Today’s hypercompetitive landscape forces every technology business to choose where to concentrate its R&D dollars. In optics, we see giants scrambling to keep pace with breakthroughs that are reshaping the world as we know it. For example, in space, the surge of small-sat constellations has pushed optical payloads toward ever-lighter, higher-resolution designs. That puts pressure on engineers to pack more pixels into tighter volumes while guaranteeing thermal stability and vibration resistance. For semiconductors, one of the fastest growing industries in the world, node sizes dip below 5 nanometers, meaning that wafer inspection microscopes must resolve sub-nanometer defects. The automotive sector is asking for higher performing infrared and thermal cameras, which are becoming a cornerstone of driver monitoring and ADAS including safety systems. Similarly, optical challenges are also prevalent as spec requirements become more stringent within the space, defense and microscopy fields, demanding ever-higher performance.

In that regard, image resolution and system performance know no bounds. At Optikos, we are being strategic within this space about our deep-rooted knowhow, deliberately steering our expertise toward the applications that will define the next decade of precision optics:

1. In Satellite Payloads and Integrated Testing

Space‑bound optics have come to demand a different kind of rigor in terms of image calibration and performance. In this circumstance, Optikos has designed precision electro-optical metrology equipment built for high vacuum environments, meeting NASA’s low outgassing (TML/CVCM) requirements. Our vacuum-compatible offering includes Collimators, Target Generators, Multi-Spectral Light Sources, as well as Black-Body Source for infrared testing. All components use space-flight heritage materials, ensuring their performance in a vacuum environment without any contamination risk to the payload under test.

2. In Standardizing Objective Testing of Riflescopes and Red-Dot Sights

For defense customers, the OpTest® and LensCheck™ platforms have been complemented with the ColliMeter™ for Riflescopes, a compact, ready to-go system that performs exacting assessment of riflescope or red-dot sight. The new system reproduces the actual performance a shooter would experience in the field. This device enables repeatable, quantitative verification of parallax among other parameters over the field of view. This fresh approach establishes a common benchmark that manufacturers can adopt industrywide.

3. Hyper-Performing Custom Microscopy – From Lab to Wafer

A historical standout example of the Optikos cross industry innovation is the Teradyne 106 mm f/2 wafer inspection lens[1], originally conceived for semiconductor mask inspection and now repurposed for high NA microscopy. Its ultrafast aperture delivers diffraction limited resolution at submicron scales, enabling high-performing microscopy with a performance that exceeded the technology capabilities of our customer. When paired with the Optikos MTF-verified metrology, chip makers can detect particle contamination, pattern collapse and edge roughness in a single pass. Optikos will continue to expand high-end metrology services for wafer inspection while fully integrating custom made microscope objectives that meet the stringent demands of semiconductor manufacturing, as well as advanced laboratory research.

In 2026 Optikos is on a path to standardize how optical performance is measured, validated and delivered across wildly different, yet important markets. From rugged aerial lenses to riflescope benchmarks that bring repeatability to the battlefield and ultrafast microscopy that safeguards the next generation of chips, the company’s innovations converge on one principle: precision optics, everywhere light goes.

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[1] Close‑up Photography. “Optikos Teradyne 106 mm f/2 Inspection Lens.” Close‑up Photography, n.d. https://www.closeupphotography.com/optikos‑teradyne‑106mm‑f2‑lens.

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