Iris Light Technologies Inc.

Iris Light Technologies Inc. is a Chicago-based small business specializing in advanced photonic technologies, with a focus on silicon photonic components, nanomaterial-based optical systems, and black phosphorus-enabled devices. The company has established itself as a key innovator in the development of compact, high-performance photonic integrated circuits designed for military sensing, communications, and precision timing applications. Through successive federal awards from the Air Force Research Laboratory, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy, Iris Light Technologies has demonstrated expertise in miniaturized optical technologies critical to next-generation defense and scientific instrumentation capabilities.

Iris Light Technologies has received three federal contract awards, all from the Air Force Research Laboratory under small business set-aside designations. The company's most recent contract award is a $1.8 million STTR Phase II firm fixed-price purchase order (awarded August 25, 2025) for the development of low size, weight, and power frequency combs for radiofrequency photonic chips and portable atomic clocks leveraging black phosphorus materials and technologies, with completion scheduled for June 1, 2027. Prior to this, the company received a $109,996 STTR Phase I contract (awarded January 17, 2025) for the development of low size, weight, and power frequency combs enabled by black phosphorus absorbers for advanced atomic clocks, with an ultimate completion date of April 18, 2025. Additionally, Iris Light Technologies received a $74,996 SBIR Phase I purchase order (awarded May 5, 2023) for the development of on-chip two-micrometer silicon photonic photodetectors for low size, weight, and power consumption agile waveform lidar, with completion in August 2023. All three contract awards were designated as total small business set-asides and represent continuation of the company's research in compact photonic technologies for military applications.

Iris Light Technologies has received four federal grant awards supporting research and development across multiple technology domains. The company secured a $1 million Cooperative Agreement from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (awarded September 15, 2024) for foundry-scale production of on-chip silicon photonic light emitters enabled by printed photonic ink using black phosphorus-based inks, extending through August 31, 2026. The Department of Energy's Office of Science provided two Project Grants: a $206,400 award (effective February 18, 2025) for developing broadband SWIR photodetector arrays enabled by nanomaterial semiconductor inks, concluding January 30, 2026, and a prior award (dated July 10, 2023) for research on energy-efficient data centers and high-performance computing enabled by on-chip printed microelectronic optical component and circuit manufacturing, extending through September 9, 2026. The National Science Foundation's Division of Industrial Innovation also funded a $256,000 STTR Phase I Project Grant (awarded December 1, 2021) for advancing electro-luminescence and doping of black phosphorus for printed lasers on silicon photonic chips, completed November 30, 2022. These grants collectively demonstrate the company's sustained research focus on printed photonic technologies, nanomaterial integration, and silicon photonic innovations for defense, medical, and computing applications.

Silicon photonics R&D. Chip design services.