The Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province has recently announced that the RCALS-based Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Microstructured Specialty Optical Fiber is included in the second batch of Zhejiang key laboratories.

The Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Microstructured Specialty Optical Fiber is jointly established by Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, iFiber (Ningbo) Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou Hengying Technology Co., Ltd. The new key laboratory has more than 50 members with multiple expertise including optical-fiber fabrications, laser developments, nonlinear optics, etc.

This newly established RCALS-based key laboratory will mainly focus on fundamental research in fibre optics and laser science based on microstructured fibres, which also serves potential applications such as next-generation optical communication and advanced laser sources demanded in many cutting-edge technologies. The new key laboratory aims to become a major international research brand in the field of optical fiber and laser technology based in Zhejiang province.

Philip St.J. Russell, the inventor of photonic crystal fiber, is currently the scientific director of RCALS. He has been an elected foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2023.