Recaping 2025, SPIE Photonics West 2026 and SPAD User Group Meeting
2026 is kicking off with the most important photonics event, SPIE Photonics West 2026.
Before dwelling into 2026, we recap our innovation progress in 2025, along three important frontlines:
1. Sensitivity improvements: We have released a red-enhance SPAD array (SPAD 23 Red) with shifts the peak sensitivity from 520 nm to 640 nm, with significantly higher sensitivity for all wavelengths above 640 nm.
shift to the red wavelengths
2. Dynamic range increase: We have released SPAD 93, a small SPAD array targeted for point scanning applications, which improves the maximum count rate from 100 Mcps to over 3 Gcps. It came with upgraded cooling so that the 93 elements generate comparable dark count rate baselines compared to SPAD 23 (thus offering a per pixel dark count rate reduction of up to ×4).
and Pi Imaging’s SPAD 23 and SPAD 93
3. Image resolution/array size: We upgraded our 512×512 pixel image sensor to 1024×1024 pixels, and released SPAD Alpha, a time-gated SPAD camera with 4x pixels, available in RGB and monochrome versions.
2026 opening video with our SPAD Alpha RGB!
Within 2026, we continue to push these frontlines, bringing additional value to the community of life sciences (specifically confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and fluorescence lifetime imaging), quantum information and beyond.
Coming back to SPIE Photonics West 2026, our team at booth 4443 will be present to discuss how we are revolutionizing the photonics landscape with SPAD arrays and cameras. Pi Imaging participates with three contributions:
- SNR performance comparison between SPAD arrays, PMT and APD in low-light conditions,
- 3 million frames-per-second SPAD RGB system for low-light high-speed imaging,
- And in collaboration with Picoquant, on SPAD arrays surpass limitations in conventional Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS): new prospects for mobility analysis of biomolecules.
The conference and exhibition brings additional excitement around SPAD technology: fusing quantum and classical information, cancer sectioning, image scanning microscopy, structured illumination microscopy, diffuse correlation spectroscopy, cardiovascular and neurovascular monitoring and more.
Photonics West is preceded by the BIOS exhibition, where our products will be exhibited by Axiom Optics at booth 849.
After Photonics West, Pi Imaging will participate in the bi-annual SPAD User Group Meeting organized by the SPAD authority Prof. Edoardo Charbon. This meeting is an invitation-only event aimed at bringing together the early adapters of SPAD technology and its most advanced builders.
Contact:
Pi Imaging Technology – a ZEISS company
www.PiImaging.com
info@piimaging.com
+41765733314