Princeton Lightwave is pleased to announce that Dr Mark Itzler, CEO and CTO, has been named a Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). Dr. Itzler is being recognized for achievements in the development and commercialization of avalanche photodiodes.
SPIE Fellows are members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. They are honored for their technical achievement, for their service to the general optics community, and to SPIE in particular. Just 1,200 SPIE members have become Fellows since the Society's inception in 1955.
Dr. Itzler is acknowledged as a leading authority in indium-phosphide avalanche photodiodes (APDs). He holds more than twenty patents and has led the development of numerous products involving APDs for applications ranging from high-bandwidth telecommunications to single-photon LiDAR imaging and quantum communications. Over the past two decades, Dr. Itzler has authored over one hundred papers and has chaired annual conferences focused on photodetector and photon counting technology. He was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2011.
At Princeton Lightwave, where he has been CEO for the past five years, Dr. Itzler has championed the development and commercialization of Geiger-mode technology for 3D imaging and has established the company as the leading manufacturer of single-photon LiDAR products. These products are already in use for defense targeting, aerial mapping, and autonomous navigation, and the company is now pioneering the use of Geiger-mode LiDAR for driverless cars, for which its technology enables economical, eye-safe 3D imaging to distances of over 300 meters.
In response to being named an SPIE Fellow, Dr. Itzler noted the commercial value of APDs in general and Geiger-mode detectors in particular. “Avalanche photodiodes are an integral component to worldwide connectivity and will be increasingly important for sensing, security, and navigation. Advances in Geiger-mode detection are potentially disruptive for long-range 3D imaging, and I am excited about the current deployment of this technology on airborne applications and its future benefits for driverless vehicles.” Princeton Lightwave’s flagship automotive LiDAR product is the GeigerCruizer™, which is already acknowledged by automotive industry leaders as having a detection range and resolution greatly exceeding that of other automotive LiDARs.
Dr. Itzler will receive his Fellow award at the SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing Conference in Anaheim, California. The conference is being held April 9 – 13.