News: Optoelectronics
12 January 2026
BluGlass secures contract extension with NCSU-led CLAWS Hub
The US subsidiary of BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia and North Carolina State University (NCSU) have extended their existing contract to include a third year, valued at A$1.05m (US$680,000). Under the extension, BluGlass will continue developing gallium nitride (GaN) lasers to support defence, quantum, and dual-use technology development for the US Department of War (DoW) as part of the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, which is led by NCSU.
The CLAWS Hub is one of eight Microelectronic Commons innovation hubs established by the US DoW (formerly the US Department of Defense) and funded by the CHIPS and Science Act. The Microelectronics Commons program is a collaborative capability-building program developing sovereign next-generation microelectronics for critical defence and dual-use technologies. Hub members include Coherent, MACOM, and General Electric.
Under its core-development contract for Year 3 of the Microelectronics Program, BluGlass will continue developing its high-fidelity, high-precision GaN laser and integrated photonic technology to address both the scalability challenges and the exacting precision requirements of next-generation quantum computing and intelligence applications. The contract award follows BluGlass’ completion of all development milestones of its A$2.9m Year-2 core-development contract for US fiscal year 2025.
Under the Year-2 CLAWS Hub development program BluGlass continued to develop its GaN laser platform and demonstrated significant power conversion efficiency improvements across its portfolio from violet to blue wavelengths as well as enhanced distributed feedback (DFB) laser capabilities. BluGlass has been awarded a combined A$6.5m (US$4.4m) for the first three years of the 5-year Microelectronics Commons program.
“Securing a third consecutive year of support from the US Department of War is a strong endorsement of our technology leadership and the accelerating momentum of our GaN laser roadmap,” says BluGlass’ CEO Jim Haden. “Building on last year’s success with the CLAWS Hub, this renewed contract further strengthens our role in developing critical next-generation quantum, defence, and dual-use technologies supported by robust sovereign supply chains,” he adds.
“Our continued collaboration with hub members and industry partners is fast-tracking the transition of advanced photonics and optoelectronic devices from early-stage research through to commercial manufacturing,” Haden continues. “BluGlass is establishing itself as a commercial off-ramp within the US lab‑to‑fab ecosystem - enabling new capabilities in sensing, communications, materials processing, aviation, and future quantum systems. This contract reflects the conversion of an opportunity within our US$100m pipeline, with this non-dilutive funding enhancing both our technology roadmap and manufacturing excellence as we team with Hub members to deliver technologies vital to national security and emerging quantum markets.”
BluGlass enters into contract with NCSU for visible laser development as part of CLAWS Hub
