One of the most interesting launches at Photonics West 2025 was the announcement from Holographix, part of the Headwall Group, that it is launching a new design service for microlens array devices. Microlens arrays are critical to many optical systems and there has been a boom in demand for customised solutions to support specific applications. Holographix’s new service will place speed-of-solution alongside its reputation for seamless integration and reliability.
Jim Gareau, Headwall Group’s Vice-President & General Manager of Optical Components and Assemblies, told Electro Optics that the area of the business he runs has always been market-focused and this launch is a natural consequence of that. “Holographix is a relatively small company and, so, always has the ability to focus well on the things that it wants to get done,” he said. “I'd say we're nimble, but we do also have the capability to do multiple things at once. We employ about 40 people, and our manufacturing is done in two locations in Massachusetts, USA.”
This new design service will complement that manufacturing capacity, which includes precision replication processes, custom tooling, and comprehensive metrology. “This launch, alongside our scale within the wider Headwall Group, feels great because we have the capability to solve customer problems that can't easily be solved,” said Gareau. “With the replication technology we have, we can do that work repeatedly and at a lower cost than other people can. That's really enabling for our customers.”
Holographix’s proprietary replication technology produces state-of-the-art structured surfaces and optical devices that are used in a wide array of industries, including spectroscopy, life sciences, semiconductor, aerospace, defence, display, telecommunication, metrology, and precision measurement. With a company-wide emphasis on quality, Holographix maintains a rigorous ISO 9001:2015 certified Quality Assurance programme.
“If you went back 10 or 15 years in photonics, people were mainly talking about life sciences and defense, because those were industries that had a strong technology and innovation base in the USA and were characterised by a very strong preference for production there or across North America,” says Gareau. That is now changing as new applications emerge and turbulent geo-political headwinds throw up fresh opportunities and challenges: “It's important to have your ear to the market and be customer- or market-led. If technology gets too far ahead of the market, then you don't have any customers but, equally if you wait too long, people move on.”
High-performance photonic solutions
Built across decades, Holographix’s track-record of providing customers with high-performance, custom-designed and manufactured photonic solutions for a wide range of applications includes custom binary and blazed gratings, microlens arrays, and diffractive waveguides. With the knowledge built in that field, there was a natural extension o towards other areas of nano- and micro-replication.
Along with inno-spec, the company’s position within Headwall Group is undoubtedly a strength in a competitive market. “On the OEM side of things, customers tend to know us for one aspect of what we can do, and so it's almost incidental that we do hyperspectral too,” says Gareua.
“If you think about the Headwall Group overall, you think of it as best-in-class components to turnkey imaging systems and services; the OEM part is the start of that continuance.
“We have customers that buy optical components, such as gratings, from us and we put them in mechanical housing. So, a customer might know us for one thing but, as part of the Headwall Group, we have access to optimal engineering, optical mechanics and systems engineering. And, now, with the recent acquisition of software company EVK, we can do even more for the OEM customer than other companies that are specialised in components.”
EVK, based in Austria, also has an established track record; this time in sensor-based solutions, and its data analysis expertise aligns well with Headwall Group’s existing product set. This sort of smart acquisition sets the group apart in a range of markets where the pace of technology development remains startling.
Some of that development is positively driving the economics forward, but it has been a mixed year on some measures. “While, market-wise, I think the focus of innovation lies with AR and VR, we have seen a little of the oversupply of science instrumentation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. That has created a bit of a hangover across the industry,” says Geareau. That pressure means an ever-critical reliance on the company’s core mission: to supply exemplary customer service.
“We get a lot of business from our reputation,” admits Gareau. “I think one of the things that differentiates us is the way that we work collaboratively with our customers. Pretty much everyone in the company who talks to customers is an engineer.” Some of those engineers were on the company’s stand at Photonics West. “We engage with customers very collaboratively and the expression I use is collaborative engineering,” says Gareau. “What we want to do is help our customers innovate and differentiate in their markets. And to do that by really digging in with engineering on the customer side and understanding really deeply what is important to our customer.
“With our components, we will do more with the replication technology and that traditionally has meant things such as higher fidelity features or higher precision features. If you look at it from the top of the value chain, replication actually takes components out of the value chain and, in doing that, it improves performance, reduces the cost and everyone wins.
“But there’s always more education to do. For example, I think there is a perception that a polymer replicated optic isn't very precise, and suffers from contamination problems or it might not survive a harsh environment, but our replicated optics are extremely precise, and we can align them very precisely.”
It’s this sort of resilience and determination to pitch market-focused messages that a customer can understand that makes all the difference to a company’s outlook. By offering an even broader suite of solutions and managing that process through engineering-led dialogue, Holographix is better positioned than ever to be a one-stop partner for customers navigating the complex challenges of modern optics innovation.
