Optics

Imagine a world where the light source and the light itself no longer need to be in the same place.

Aero glass enables precise control over light diffusion through its nanostructured architecture — allowing light to be guided into the material from a distance, shaped volumetrically, and emitted without a visible source.

The challenge

Modern lighting and optical systems are increasingly constrained by the physical limitations of conventional components. Traditional diffusers, coatings, and optical elements often:

  • require the light source to be placed directly at the point of illumination

  • create visible, glaring point sources that limit design freedom

  • add weight and volume to optical assemblies

  • require complex multi-layer coatings or secondary optics

  • struggle with thermal management in high-intensity applications

As laser and high-power LED systems become more prevalent, especially in architectural lighting, automotive design, and sensing, the need for precise light shaping with spatial flexibility becomes critical.

How our aero materials help

Aero glass is built from a three-dimensional nanostructured network of glass with extremely high porosity and surface area. Unlike conventional diffuser materials, it is not a coating or a film — the optical function is embedded directly into the material volume.

This enables a fundamentally new approach: a laser or other light source can be positioned remotely and coupled into the aero glass material, which then diffuses the light homogeneously across its entire volume. The light source itself becomes invisible.

This structure results in:

  • Volumetric light diffusion, coherent laser light is scattered homogeneously throughout the material, not just at its surface

  • Spatial separation of light source and light emission, the laser can be hidden, protected, or centrally positioned while the luminous element takes any shape

  • Thermal decoupling, heat is generated at the laser, not at the luminous element, simplifying thermal management at the point of illumination

  • Minimal added weight, with densities orders of magnitude below conventional materials

Unlike coatings or films, the optical function is embedded directly into the material volume, enabling new optical architectures.

Example applications

Projection and large-space illumination
For sports arenas, cinemas, or large venues, aero glass enables laser-driven lighting at irradiance levels around 10 times higher than conventional phosphors, without conversion losses.

Tunable white light via RGB laser mixing
Red, green, and blue lasers coupled into aero glass produce any colour within a wide range — including white light — simply by adjusting laser intensities. No light conversion required.

Speckle-free laser illumination
Aero glass reduces laser speckle contrast well below the human perception threshold — making laser light comfortable for everyday environments.

Anywhere light source and light emission need to be separated
Wherever the laser needs to be hidden, protected, or centrally positioned, aero glass allows the luminous element to be placed and shaped independently.

Developing optical systems where efficiency, weight, and precision converge?

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Relevant Academic Research & Publications

The same structural principles that make aeromaterial useful for actuation — extreme porosity, nanoscale wall thickness, and a random network of hollow tubes — also make it an exceptionally efficient light diffuser. It acts as an artificial solid fog, scattering light uniformly in all directions without absorbing it.

Conversionless efficient and broadband laser light diffusers for high brightness illumination applications Schütt et al. — Nature Communications, 2020 Demonstrates a boron nitride aeromaterial (from the same synthesis family) as a broadband laser diffuser, achieving ~98% efficiency across the full visible spectrum and withstanding about ten times the irradiance levels tolerated by conventional phosphors. Opens the door to using energy-efficient laser diodes for high-brightness applications such as automotive headlights, projectors, and large-space lighting. Read the publication