Our History →

Since 2002 LightMachinery has been manufacturing world class optics for research and aerospace applications. Through continued innovation and drive to push the leading edge of performance LightMachinery has been chosen as the payload partner for many mission critical applications. Visit our heritage site for a sample of our space projects.

Payload Partners

Why LightMachinery?

  • 20 years of experience manufacturing dispersion optics and optics systems
  • 50,000 sqft ISO 9001:2015 production facility  
  • A mature, well-developed, and actively managed supply chain
  • In-depth experience converting customer requirements into product tolerances 
  • Registered with the Controlled Goods Program (CGP) as mandated by the Canadian Defense Production Act.
  • Thanks to our CGP registration, we are legally able to receive and properly safeguard ITAR-controlled designs and technical data

Custom Spectrometers for Aerospace Applications →

LightMachinery has been manufacturing custom spectrometers for aerospace, balloon, and ground-based applications for almost 2 decades, a partial list of these devices includes some acronym soup; the Real Fringe DASH, MANIC, SHOW, SHIELDS, SWIFT, MIGHTI, and of course the Michelson interferometer for HMI on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO.

Standard High-Resolution Spectrometers →

HyperFine spectrometers are the industry's leading platforms for high-resolution spectroscopy.  Powered by revolutionary optical components, including Fabry Perot Etalons (HN Series), VIPAs (HF Series), and SHSs (UltraBright Series), all manufactured using LightMachinery's proprietary computer-controlled polishing technology.  HyperFine spectrometers lead the world in resolution and compactness.  This compact and lightweight technology is a perfect match for space-based spectroscopy applications.  Our long heritage in providing spectrometer solutions for aerospace applications has led us to work on the development of hyperspectral imaging solutions that can be quickly adapted to specific mission requirements.

Space Grade Etalons →

LightMachinery has built etalons for several different satellite instruments.  These include the capacitor stabilized etalon which imaged the Earth’s thermosphere in the vacuum ultraviolet for the Thermosphere Temperature Imager on NASA’s FASTSAT.  MSASI on ESA’s Bepicolumbo will provide information about Mercury’s atmosphere using an etalon tuned to the sodium D line. The etalon on GHGSat’s satellites allows measurement of CO2 and methane concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere.  LightMachinery contributed a set of precisely tuned etalons to the ATLAS instrument.  Each of these etalons is designed to transmit the instrument’s laser wavelength while blocking sunlight with similar wavelength.  Each receiving channel has its own etalon, and a seventh etalon is used to help monitor the laser wavelength.