Report on OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Congress 2018 (OPIC2018)
Kazuo KURODA1, Yoshiaki KATO2 and Shuji SAKABE3
1 Co-chair of OPIC2018 Organizing Committee,

Center for Optical Research and Education, Utsunomiya University, Utsunomiya 321-8585
2 Co-chair of OPIC2018 Organizing Committee,

The Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 431-1202
3 Chair of OPIC2018 Steering Committee,

Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Gokasho Uji-city, Kyoto, 611-0011

1. Introduction
OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Congress (OPIC) has been held annually since2012 at Yokohama as an international forum to present and discuss the most up-dated R& D activities in optics and photonics over the world. The state-of-art technologies andproducts in optics and photonics are demonstrated at the co-located and jointly organized
OPIE (OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Exhibition).
OPIC2018 was held in April 23-27, 2018 at Pacifico Yokohama Congress Center withCongress Co-Chairs: Christopher P. J. Barty (University of California Irvine,USA),

Reinhart Poprawe (Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Germany), Sadao Nakai(Osaka University, Japan), and Ruxin Li (Shanghai Institute of Optics and FineMechanics, China) (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Congress Co-Chairs of OPIC2018:Christopher P. J. Barty, Reinhart Poprawe, Sadao Nakai, and Ruxin Li (from left to right)

OPIC2018 was organized by OPTICS and PHOTONICS International Council, withthe support of five Ministries of Japanese Government and Japan Business Foundation,and in cooperation with many research institutes and academic societies in Japan andforeign countries, as shown in Table 1.
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Table 1. Organization of OPIC2018
OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Congress 2018 (OPIC2018)
Co-located with OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Exhibition 2018 (OPIE2018)
Organized by OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Council
Specialized International Conferences were organized byThe Laser Society of Japan / SPIE – The International Society for Optics and Photonics/
Institute for Nano Quantum Information Electronics, The University of Tokyo / The
Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries / The Optical Society ofJapan / Akasaki Research Center (ARC), Nagoya University / The Micro Solid-State
Photonics Group of The Laser Society of Japan / High Energy Accelerator Research
Organization (KEK) / Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University / The Executive
Committee of Laser Solution for Space and the Earth / SIOM Chinese Academy of Science /Japan Laser Processing Society / RIKEN SPring-8 Center / Research Center for
Ultra-Precision Science & Technology, Osaka University
Supporting agencies of OPIC2018
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) / Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry (METI) /Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ofJapan (MAFF) / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) / Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) / KEIDANREN (Japan BusinessFederation) / Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) / Japan Tourism Agency (JTA)
Cooperating agencies of OPIC2018
AESJ - Atomic Energy Society of Japan / AIST - The National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science and Technology / Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT(Germany) / ILT - Institute for Laser Technology / JPC - Japan Photonics Council / JSPF The Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research / NEDO - New Energyand Industrial Technology Development Organization / OITDA - Optoelectronic Industryand Technology Development Association / OSA - The Optical Society (USA) / Photonics
Media (USA) / PIDA - The Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association(Taiwan) / QST - National Institutes for Quantum for Quantum and Radiological Scienceand Technology / RIKEN.

OPIC is composed of Specialized International Conferences covering broad-ranged
fields in optics and photonics. Each Specialized International Conference is planned andoperated by the Conference Chair and his consortium of scientists, based on their own
initiatives to strengthen and advance the research in each specific field. This approachhelps Conference Chairs to organize attractive conferences with timely topics andup-dated speakers, and also to broaden the research networks by continuing to hold theconferences over many years.
2. OPIC2018 with 14 Specialized International Conferences
OPIC2018 was composed of 14 Specialized International Conferences, the largest
number since the beginning of OPIC, owing to joining of a new Conferences: IoT EnablingSensing/Network/AI and Photonics (IoT-SNAP2018). These 14 Specialized International
Conferences and the Conference Chairs are shown below.
■

ALPS 2018 - The 7th Advanced Lasers and Photon Sources
Chair: H. Yoneda (University of Electro-Communications)
2■

BISC 2018 - The 4th Biomedical Imaging and Sensing Conference
Chair: T. Yatagai (Utsunomiya University)■

HEDS 2018 - The 7th High Energy Density Sciences
Chair: T. Hosokai (Osaka University)■

ICNN 2018 - International Conference on Nano-photonics and Nano- optoelectronics
Chair: Y. Arakawa (The University of Tokyo)■

IoT-SNAP 2018 - IoT Enabling Sensing/Network/AI and Photonics Conference
Chairs: N. Hagita (ATR), R. Freund (Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Inst.)■

LDC 2018 - The 7th Laser Display and Lighting Conference
Chairs: K. Kuroda (Utsunomiya University), H. Murata (Osaka University)■

LEDIA 2018 - The 6th International Conference on Light-Emitting Devices and Their
Industrial Applications
Chair: H. Amano (Nagoya University)■

LIC 2018 - The 6th Light Ignition Conference
Chair: T. Taira (Institute for Molecular Science)■

LSC 2018 - Conference on Laser and Synchrotron Radiation Combination Experiment
Chair: N. Sarukura (Osaka University)■

LSSE 2018 - The 3rd Laser Solutions for Space and the Earth
Chair: T. Ebisuzaki (RIKEN)■OMC 2018 - Optical Manipulation and Structured Materials Conference
Chair: T. Omatsu (Chiba University)■

PLD 2018 - Pacific Rim Laser Damage Conference
Chair: T. Jitsuno (Osaka University)■

SLPC 2018 - The 3rd Smart Laser Processing Conference
Chairs: M. Tsukamoto (Osaka University), R. Poprawe (Fraunhofer ILT)■

XOPT 2018 - International Conference on X-ray Optics and Applications
Chairs: T. Ishikawa(RIKEN), K. Yamauchi (Osaka University)

The overall schedule of OPIC2018 is shown in Fig. 2. The OPIC Plenary Session, open topublic, was held in the morning of April 25th, Wednesday. The Specialized InternationalConferences were held in parallel during 23-27 (Monday-Friday), with exception of Joint
Sessions in the afternoon of 25th. The Posters were presented at the Exhibition Hall tostimulate interaction between OPIC and OPIE participants. The OPIC Get-Together washeld in the evening of 23rd Monday, and the OPIC Reception in the evening of 25th.
Statistics of OPIC and Specialized International Conferences during 2012-2018 aresummarized in Table 2. Some of the Specialized Conferences have been organized withdifferent titles and some Conferences were held in other countries, as shown in italics inTable 2.
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Mon. 23 Apr.

Tue. 24 Apr.

Wed. 25 Apr.

Thu. 26 Apr.

Fri. 27 Apr.

OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Exhibition 2018
ALPS 2018

Joint Session
ALPSHEDSXOPTHEDS 2018
XOPT 2018

SPIE
shortcourse

LSSE 2018
IoT-SNAP

HEDS 2018
XOPT 2018
BISC 2018

Joint Session
BISC
OMC

OMC 2018
ICNN 2018

OPIC
PlenarySession

LSC 2018
LSSE 2018

Joint Session
IoT-SNAP
LSSE

IoT-SNAP 2018
LEDIA 2018

Joint Session
IoT-SNAP
LDC
LEDIA

LDC 2018

LDC 2018

PLD2018

Joint Session
PLD
SLPCLICSLPC 2018

OPIC Reception

Poster Session

SLPC 2018Get-Together

ALPS 2018

LIC 2018

Poster session

Fig. 2 Overall schedule of OPIC2018.

Table 2 shows that OPIC has been growing steadily as the international conference, as
seen from the number of specialized conferences (14), the number of participants (1185)
and its fraction of foreign participants (40 %), and the number of countries (47). The top
10 countries, in order of the number of participants (shown in the parentheses), areJapan (715), P. R. China (109), Germany (58), Korea (56), Taiwan (47), USA (39), France(25), Russia (17), UK (13) and India (12). (Here “country” refers to the place whereparticipant’s affiliation is located.) These statistics show that OPIC is an international
forum with broad scientific scopes, attended by the international communities in Asia,
north America, Europe and Russia. The Specialized International Conferences held
continuously over many years are now firm-footed with attendance of many participants
who are looking forward to discussing the most-updated progress of their fields andmeeting with long-term friends at OPIC.
The co-located OPIE2018 was held during April 25-27 by participation of 372
companies and organizations (9 % increase from 2017), including direct overseas
exhibitions by 11 countries and 54 companies. Total number of the participants toOPIE2018 over 3 days was 16,103. Various activities were organized at OPIE including
technical exhibitions, product demonstrations, and technical seminars. Also the Award
Ceremony of the 2018 Industrial Award by The Laser Society of Japan was held at theExhibition Hall, and awards were presented to 5 companies and 1 University in 34

categories.
Table 2 Records of OPIC and Specialized International Conferences during 2012-2018.
(Specialized International Conferences held previously and at other countries are shown in italics.)
YearDateOPIC2012
April 25-27

OPIC2013
April 23-26

OPIC2014
April 22-25

OPIC2015
April 22-24

OPIC2016
M ay 17-20

OPIC2017
April 18-21

OPIC2018
April 23-27

Congress Chairs

K. Shimoda
R. Byer

K. Shimoda
R. ByerK. IgaR. Byer
A. Ostendorf

K. IgaC. Barty
A. Ostendorf

K. IgaC. Barty
A. Ostendorf

C. Barty
R. Poprawe
S. NakaiC. Barty
R. Poprawe
R. Li
S. Nakai

Number of Specialized Conferences
Papers presented

61097111214296

411

570

478

736

729

837

Participants

519

677

782

732

102810121185

Foreign participants (%)

24%

18%

27%

25%

32%

37%

40%

Participants / Conference
Number of Countries

86.5
2367.72386.928104.6
2693.53184.33284.6
47

Specialized International Conferences

Conf. Chair

Conf. Chair

Conf. Chair

ALPS (Advanced Lasers and Photon Sources)

K. Midorikawa K. Midorikawa F. Kannari

SeTBio (Sens. Tech. for Biomater., Food, & Agri.)Conf. Chair

Conf. Chair

Conf. Chair

N. Miyanaga

H. Yoneda

H. Yoneda

H. Yoneda

Conf. Chair

T . Yatagai

T . Yatagai

T . Yatagai

N. Kondo

BISC (Biomedical Imaging & Sensing Conf.)

T . Yatagai

APBP (Asian & Pacific-Rim Symp. Biophoton.)

T . Iwai

CLSM (Conf. on Laser Surgery and Medicine)

M. Kikuchi

CIFE (Conf. on Inertial Fusion Energy)

H. Azechi

LANSA (Laser & Accler. Neutron Sourc. & Appli.)

M. Kikuchi
H. Azechi

CLE (Conf. on Laser Energetics)

H. Azechi

CLES (Conf. on Laser Energy Science)

H. Azechi

CLES/LASNA (Laser Energy Sci. & Neutron Sources)
HEDS (Int. Conf. on High Energy Density Sci.)

R. Kodama

R. Kodama

R. Kodama

R. Kodama

R. Kodama

H. Nishimura,
R. Hanayama
R. KodamaT . Hosokai

ICNN (Int. Conf. on Nanophot. & Nanooptoelectr.)

Y. Arakawa

IP (Information Photonics)

Y. Hayasaki

IoT -SNAP (IoT Enabling Sensing/Network/AI andPhotonics Conf.)
LDC (Laser Display & Lighting Conf.)

K. Kuroda

LEDIA (Int. Conf. on Light-Emitting Devices andT heir Industrial Applications)
LIC (Laser Ignition Conf.)

K. Kuroda(in Taiwan)

K. Kuroda(in Germany) K. Kuroda

H. Amano

H. Amano

H. Amano

H. Amano

T . T airaT . T aira

LSC (Laser & Synch. Rad. Combin. Exper.)(in US)

H. Amano

T . T airaN. Hagita
R. Freund
K. Kuroda
H. Murata
H. Amano
T . T aira

H. Azechi

N. Sarukura
K. Homma,
O. T esileanu

LNPC (Light Driven Nucl.-Particle Phys. & Cosmology)
LANE (Laser Appl. on Nuclear Engin.)

Y. Arakawa

H. Horiike

LSSE (Laser Solution for Space & Earth)
OMC (Optical Manipulation Conf.)

T . Omatsu

PLD (Int. Conf. on Pacific-Rim Laser Damage)T . Jitsuno

LPCC (Laser Proc. for CFRP & Compos. Mater.)

M. Kutsuna

T . Ebisuzaki

T . Ebisuzaki

T . Ebisuzaki

T . Omatsu

T . Omatsu

T . Omatsu

T . Omatsu(in China)

T . Jitsuno,
J. Shao,
W. Rudolpf(in China)

T . Jitsuno

H. Ogata

SLPC (Smart Laser Process. Conf.)

Y. Okamoto

XOPT (Int. Conf. X-ray Opt., Det., Sourc. & Appl.)

Y. Okamoto,
R. Poprawe
T . Ishikawa,
K. Yamauchi

T . Ishikawa,
K. Yamauchi

M. T sukamoto
R. Poprawe
T . Ishikawa,
K. Yamauchi

3. OPIC2018 Plenary and Reception
OPIC 2018 Plenary Session was held in the morning of April 25. Welcome Address
were given by Sadao Nakai and Ruxin Li, Congress Co-Chairs. The plenary speakers
were introduced by Congress Co-Chair, Reinhard Poprawe, and Co-Chair of Organizing
5Committee, Yoshiaki Kato.
Four plenary talks were presented on optics and photonics covering broad fields:
applications of VCSEL, NV centers in diamond for quantum sensors, photoacoustic
tomography, and laser prasma accelerators. (Fig. 3).
Joseph Pankert, general manager of Philips Photonics, gave the first plenary talkentitled "VCSELs in every car, every home and every mobile device". After mentioning
the history of VCSEL, he pointed out the several advantages of VCSEL, such as, fastswitchable, circular optical profile, LED-like production flow, wafer-scale technology, andintegration with lens and photodiode. Then, he introduced current application of VCSEL:
optical interconnects with distance range of a few 100m and optical depth sensors formobile-phone based on the time-of-flight principle. Finally, he mentioned futureapplications to automotive such as over-ground speed sensors and LIDARs. and to digital
thermal processing with a 10kW class high power VCSEL arrays.
The second speaker was Matsuko Hatano, professor of Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Title of her talk was "Diamond electronics and photonics: Application to quantumsensors". Her research is concentrated on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamondwhich is the most promising candidate of the quantum sensors. Spin state of the electron
localized at NV centers can be initialized and detected optically. Then the NV centers act
as quantum sensor of magnetic field. The advantages of the NV centers are highsensitivity, high density alignment in large area, and the operation at room temperature.
Then she talked about the applications of the NV centers to non-invasive sensors,
nanoscale NMR imaging and in-cell sensing.
Lihong V. Wang, Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at
California Institute of Technology, talked about "Photoacoustic tomography: Omniscale
imaging from organelles to patients by ultrasonically beating optical density". Principleof the photoacoustic imaging is to illuminate the objects (biomedical samples) by thelaser light (IR or visible) which is absorbed by the absorber (e.g. blood vessel). Then
heated absorber radiates the ultrasonic wave, which is detected by a microphone.
Photoacoustic tomography enables us to image inside biomedical samples much deeper
than the optical coherent tomography. He showed us many beautiful images, which
proves that the photoacoustic tomography is the excellent tool for imaging inside thebiomedical samples. He also mentioned about the super resolution of photoacoustic
tomography.
The final plenary speaker was Wim Leemans, Director of the Acceleratoe Technologyand Applied Physics Division and Director of BELLA (Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator),
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Title of his talk was "Experiments on laser
plasma accelerators with the BELLA laser and exploring the path towards futureapplications". He talked about the particle accelerator based on the excitation of plasma
6waves with intense laser beams especially in his lab. Several recent results werepresented.

Fig. 3 Plenary speakers of OPIC2018:
Joseph Pankert, Mutsuko Hatano, Lihong V. Wang, Wim Leemans (from left to right)

The OPIC Reception was started by Kazuo Kuroda, Co-Chair of Organizing Committee ofOPIC 2018, followed by Kagami-biraki, opening of a sake barrel (Fig. 4), and thenJapanese Taiko (drum) show. With attendance of most of the OPIC participants, theReception became a very good place for refreshing and starting the friendships among
various communities.

Fig. 4 OPIC2018 Reception.
Kagami-Biraki by W. Leemans, N. Kondo, S. Nakai, J. Pankert and P. Hallett (from left to right).
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4. Acknowledgement
We are indebted to Dr. Christopher P. J. Barty, Prof. Reinhart Poprawe, Prof. Sadao
Nakai, and Prof. Ruxin Li as Congress Co-Chairs, members of the International AdvisoryBoard, members of the Organizing Committee and the Steering Committee, and Chairsof the Specialized International Conferences, for organizing OPIC2018. We would like tothank MEXT, METI, MAFF, MHLW, MLIT and KEIDANREN for supporting OPIC2018.
We would like to thank the financial supports from the following organizations: Nippon
Sheet Glass Foundation for Materials Science and Engineering, The AMADA Foundation,Tsurugi-Photonics Foundation, Research Foundation for the Electrotechnology of Chubu,
Support Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology Research, Foundation,
The Foundation for Technology Promotion of Electronic Circuit Board, Konica Minolta
Science and Technology Foundation, Yokohama Convention & Visiting Bureau, andMatsuo Foundation.
Furthermore, we would like to thank the corporate sponsors for their generous
supports: OPTO SCIENCE, INC., OSA, SPIE, HAMAMATSU, Inc., Japan Laser
Corporation, Laser World of Photonics China, KATAOKA Corp., KIMMON KOHA, MKS
Ophir, OKAMOTO OPTICS WORKS, Inc., OPTO-LINE Inc., and THORLABS Japan.
Partnerships with SPIE as the International Partner, and PHOTONICS MEDIA,OPTORNICS, and Physics World as the Media Partners are also greatly appreciated.

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