In this latest edition of our Photonics Spotlight Series, we speak with Dr. Ramon Paniagua Dominguez, Principal Investigator at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), where he leads cutting-edge research in metasurfaces and flat optics. Previously based in Singapore at A*STAR for over a decade, Dr. Paniagua Dominguez has been at the forefront of developing programmable flat optics—work that continues to shape the future of nanophotonics and its applications.
Here, he shares his insights on technological trends, manufacturing challenges, and the collaborative future of global photonics innovation.
Q: In recent years, we have seen nanophotonics, particularly metasurfaces, move from fundamental research towards applications. In your view, what are one or two of the most exciting or transformative trends that will impact on the industry in the next 2-5 years?
A: In my opinion, the main transformative trends that we will see in the next 2-5 years with regard to the application of metasurfaces will be their integration into diverse sensor platforms, either for miniaturization or to add advanced functionalities to them. Notably, initial products that are incorporating metasurfaces for these purposes are already emerging, with startups in the US (e.g. Metalenz) and Asia (e.g. MetaOptics Technologies or Metalenx) commercialising the technology, mainly in the consumer electronics market.
Q: Your past work has touched on programmable metasurfaces. Looking ahead, what do you see as the most promising pathways (e.g., new phase-change materials like Sb₂S₃, electrical switching) to achieve dynamic, reconfigurable optical devices? What key challenges must be overcome to make these technologies viable for commercial products like AR/VR displays or LiDAR?
A: In my view, the most commercially viable programmable metasurface technologies will be those that integrate mature technologies, such as liquid crystals, CMOS-based addressing circuitry etc. with the emerging possibilities offered by flat optics. Early success cases are already surfacing, notably from startups like Lumotive, which has applied this approach to launch the first products incorporating programmable metasurfaces for LiDAR applications to address real market needs such as miniaturisation, robustness, and reduction of costs.
Q: Metasurfaces offer compact, flat alternatives to bulky optics. In your view, which industry (e.g., telecommunications, consumer electronics, biomedical sensing) is best positioned for the large-scale adoption of metasurface technology, and why?
A: From my perspective, consumer electronics represents the most promising market for the ultimate adoption of metasurface technology. The sector places a strong emphasis on miniaturisation, benefits from the high-volume production that aligns well with flat-optics manufacturing, and continuously demands new features and functionalities, precisely where flat optics has a lot to offer.
Dr. Ramon Paniagua Dominguez, Principal Investigator at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Q: Manufacturing scalability and cost-effectiveness remain as some of the key barriers to metasurface commercialisation. What advances in nanofabrication techniques could enable mass production of metasurface devices, and how is CSIC contributing or driving these manufacturing innovations? A significant challenge for nanophotonics is the high cost and complexity of mass fabrication at the nanoscale. What recent advancements in manufacturing techniques (e.g., moving towards 300mm silicon photonics platforms) give you confidence that these barriers can be overcome for broader market penetration?
A: In essence, flat optics manufacturing uses the same processes that the semiconductor industry has been using for decades. For operation in the visible range, the required lithographic resolutions are far more relaxed than those available today in the most advanced nodes. The primary differences lie in the materials: the substrate needs to be transparent at visible wavelengths (e.g. fused silica) while the meta-atoms typically require materials such as titanium dioxide or, in some cases, silicon nitride. Besides the materials, flat optics manufacturing presents additional challenges, including the high aspect ratios required for certain applications (particularly important for broadband operation), non-uniform pattern density, and the complex or unconventional shapes of the meta-atoms. Addressing these issues demands specific process development and unique integration flows to manufacture metasurfaces. For big foundries, this can only be justified if the market demands sufficiently large volumes, which has historically made small to medium manufacturing difficult for smaller companies. Interestingly, organisations such as the National Semiconductor Technology and Innovation Center (NSTIC) in Singapore are emerging to help bridge this gap.
An emergent alternative to conventional CMOS-like processes is nanoimprint lithography. A key advantage of this approach is the possibility to directly imprint flat optical components on high-index resins, thereby reducing the number of fabrication steps needed. Several companies have already adopted this pathway, which can potentially offer lower manufacturing costs and reduce the barrier to entry in terms of capital equipment investment. While the current levels uniformity and yield of this alternative are not yet on par with those offered by conventional photolithography and etching approach, nanoimprint lithography nonetheless represents an interesting alternative worth keeping an eye on.
Q: The integration of AI and nanophotonics is a key growth trend. Where do you see the most immediate synergy: in using AI to design novel nanophotonic structures, or in developing nanophotonic hardware to accelerate AI computing itself?
A: Both areas represent highly active areas of development. When it comes to AI for nanophotonics design, we see a vast number of publications putting forward designs that are clearly overperforming intuition-based ones. However, an important consideration which remains is the need to introduce design-for-manufacturing constraints in the design toolkit. Doing so would enable the development of something analogous to standard PDKs which are still largely absent in flat optics but tailored for AI-driven designs. On the other hand, nanophotonics is gaining traction as an enabling technology for AI hardware, with increasing evidence of nanophotonics components and subsystems being used to accelerate, and more importantly, reduce power consumptions. Although a fully optical AI architecture might still be a longer-term goal, there is great potential in off-loading some of the processing tasks into optical architectures, which offer significant potential in terms of operational speed, parallelisation and energy efficiency.
Q: As Principal Investigator at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), you lead cutting-edge research in metasurfaces and flat optics. What breakthrough developments have emerged from your laboratory, and how do these advances position CSIC within the global photonics landscape?
A: I only recently moved to CSIC, where I´m still in the process of establishing my new lab. Prior to that, I spent over a decade at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. During my time there, my group (the Spatial Light Modulators group at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering) was mainly focused on developing programmable flat optics, namely metasurfaces in which the functionality could be dynamically changed. We were among the pioneers using liquid crystals to tune the response of the meta-atoms (the basic building blocks of flat optics), as well as in addressing individual pixels to create flat optics-based spatial light modulators with miniaturised pixel size, all with the main goal of producing the next generation of display technologies.
Q: CSIC has strong international partnerships, particularly with Asian research institutions. How do you view the role of global collaboration in advancing photonics research, and what opportunities do you see for knowledge exchange between European and Asian photonics communities?
A: Global collaboration is essential in photonics, as progress increasingly depends on combining complementary expertise in theory, design, fabrication, and system integration. In this regard, CSIC, as well as other Spanish and European institutions and groups, have traditionally contributed with strong capabilities in fundamental photonics and advanced optical design. At the same time, Asian partners offer world-class nanofabrication infrastructure and rapid pathways to industrial translation. It is only through collaboration and exchange such as training and researcher mobility, that innovation can be accelerated and enable faster transition from new breakthrough concepts to real-world photonic technologies.
Q: Looking ahead to Asia Photonics Expo 2026, what are your expectations for the event, and which key trends or innovations do you anticipate will take center stage?
A: Looking ahead to Asia Photonics Expo (APE) 2026, I expect the event to reflect the global shift in photonics from enabling components toward system-level, application-driven solutions. Building on trends seen in previous editions, the expo will likely reflect the tighter interconnection between photonics, electronics, and artificial intelligence, with the continued emphasis on scalable manufacturing and real-world deployment.
Key themes I anticipate taking center stage include integrated and heterogeneous photonic platforms, advanced metasurfaces and flat optics for imaging and sensing, and photonics for AI, data centers, and high-speed communications.
In addition, I would not be surprised to see a growing visibility of quantum photonics, as well as a larger emphasis on sustainable and energy-efficient photonic technologies. Overall, Asia Photonics Expo (APE) 2026 should further consolidate its role as a meeting point where core technological innovation, industrial readiness, and global collaboration converge.
We extend our thanks to Dr. Ramon Paniagua Dominguez for sharing his expertise and vision. To stay updated on his work and other photonics advancements, follow our Photonics Spotlight Series and join us at Asia Photonics Expo (APE) 2026 in Singapore.
Dr. Ramon Paniagua Dominguez’s Biography
Dr. Ramon Paniagua Dominguez obtained his Ph.D. degree in physics in 2013 from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, while working at the Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (IEM-CSIC). He worked at CSIC until 2014, when he joined the Data Storage Institute (DSI-A*STAR, Singapore) as a Scientist. Working in the Nanophotonics group at DSI-A*STAR, he was among the pioneers in the study of resonant dielectric nanoparticles and their applications to optical metasurfaces, now widely known as flat optics. (In 2018, he moved to the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE-A*STAR), where he became Principal Scientist, Group Leader and, later, Head of the Advanced Optical Technologies Department. His group at IMRE made significant contributions to the development of tunable metasurfaces, for which he was awarded the OPTICA Fellowship in 2025. In the same year, Dr. Ramon Paniagua Dominguez returned to Spain, where he is currently a Principal Investigator at CSIC. During his career, he has participated in more than 10 publicly and industry-funded research projects as PI/co-PI, published approximately 100 articles, including journals such as Science and Nature Nanotechnology, and filed over 15 patents, several of which have been licensed and under active use.
