OEwaves
OEwaves is a Pasadena-based precision photonics firm founded in 2000 that develops ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, RF/mmWave signal sources, and photonic test systems based on proprietary self-injection locking to ultra-high-Q WGM resonators, serving U.S. Government agencies (DARPA, NASA), defense primes (Lockheed Martin), and research institutions across quantum, aerospace, and metrology markets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersPasadena, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What OEwaves does
OEwaves is a Pasadena, California-based precision photonics company founded in 2000 that develops ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, RF/mmWave signal sources, and photonic test and measurement systems built on a proprietary self-injection locking technique that locks semiconductor lasers to ultra-high-Q crystalline Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) resonators fabricated from calcium fluoride, lithium tantalate, quartz, silicon, and diamond. The core product portfolio spans the Hi-Q laser family covering wavelengths from 370 nm to 4500 nm, opto-electronic oscillators (X-band, Ka-band, and THz sources), stabilized reference cavities for quantum applications, and a test & measurement line including the OE4000 Laser Noise Analyzer, OE4001 RIN Analyzer, and OE8000/8000W phase noise analyzers. Performance benchmarks include sub-Hz to sub-10 Hz Lorentzian linewidths, phase noise floors of -160 dBc/Hz, and WGM resonator Q-factors exceeding 10^11.
The company's go-to-market targets U.S. Government agencies (DARPA, NASA, JPL) and Tier 1 defense and aerospace primes (Lockheed Martin) through direct enterprise sales from its Pasadena headquarters, supplemented by an authorized global distributor network spanning 18+ countries across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia/New Zealand. Revenue is generated across four streams: laser and photonic hardware sales, test and measurement equipment sales, custom development services structured under Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Fixed Price Services, or Time and Materials supplemental terms, and licensing of its 126+ patent portfolio. With 11-50 employees, OEwaves has demonstrated commercial technology transfer through the 2017 spin-off Strobe Inc. (acquired by GM Cruise for lidar technology), and continues to expand into quantum computing, photonic radar, EMP-immune receivers, and spaceborne sensing applications through partnerships with NASA, JPL, UCLA, Georgia Tech, and commercial quantum computing initiatives.
OEwaves firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OEwaves
- Legal name
- OEwaves, Inc.
- Website
- https://oewaves.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OEwaves is a Pasadena-based precision photonics firm founded in 2000 that develops ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, RF/mmWave signal sources, and photonic test systems based on proprietary self-injection locking to ultra-high-Q WGM resonators, serving U.S. Government agencies (DARPA, NASA), defense primes (Lockheed Martin), and research institutions across quantum, aerospace, and metrology markets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OEwaves industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Precision Photonics and Narrow-Linewidth Lasers
- NAICS
- Electric Lamp Bulb and Other Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (335139), Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (3351)
- SIC
- Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL) (HDAHALAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Quantum Sensor Components & Subsystems (Lasers, Vacuum, Photonics, Diamond/NV, MEMS) (HDAGAHAM), Optics & Laser/Light Engine Components (Lenses, Galvos, Laser Modules, UV Engines) (IMAAAIAC)
Keywords
Where OEwaves is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pasadena
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
OEwaves business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Laser and Photonic Hardware Sales: Sale of ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, WGM resonators, integrated laser systems, and photonic oscillators. Products span wavelengths from 370 nm to 4500 nm across multiple laser models and configurations (lab bench, OEM, rack-mount).
- Test and Measurement Equipment Sales: Sale of RF/laser noise analyzers and phase noise measurement systems including OE8000 (RF), OE4000 (laser noise), OE4001 (RIN), and OE8000W (W-band) instruments.
- Custom Development Services: World-class development services for Government and Tier 1 Suppliers, including custom photonic technology co-development. Examples include ultra-compact mmW radiation sources, specialized inertial sensing lasers, photonic radar, and compact EMP-immune receivers. Multiple supplemental terms available including Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Fixed Price Services, and Time and Materials structures.
- Licensing / IP Royalties: With over 126 patents, OEwaves leverages its extensive patent portfolio including the WGM resonator technology and self-injection locking technique through licensing arrangements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom/Quote-Based Pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
OEwaves product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OEwaves designs, manufactures, and sells ultra-narrow linewidth lasers and photonic instruments built on its proprietary self-injection locking of semiconductor lasers to ultra-high-Q crystalline Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) microresonators. Its commercial portfolio spans the Hi-Q laser family (370-4500 nm), RF/mmWave/THz opto-electronic oscillators, W-band and RF phase noise analyzers, crystalline WGM resonator components, and custom photonic co-development services for government and Tier 1 supplier customers.
Product overview
OEwaves is a precision photonics company that develops and manufactures ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, high-performance test and measurement systems, and photonic components. The product portfolio centers on the Hi-Q laser family, which uses proprietary self-injection locking technology to crystalline whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators. Core products include the Hi-Q Integrated Laser System, Stabilized Reference Cavity, and Laser Phase Lock System, which together enable quantum computing, quantum sensing, and precision metrology applications. Test and measurement offerings include the OE4000 Multifunctional Laser Noise Analyzer, OE4001 Laser RIN Analyzer, OE8000 RF Test System, and OE8000W W-Band Phase Noise Analyzer. RF/mmWave signal sources include the OE3700 X-Band OEO, OE3710 Ka-Band OEO, and OE3720 THz Source. The OE0200 Ultra-High Q WGM Resonators serve as key components across the product line. Custom solutions are also available for specialized applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Hi-Q: Product line brand for ultra-narrow linewidth lasers and photonic systems including Hi-Q Lasers, Hi-Q Integrated Laser System, Hi-Q OEO (Opto-Electronic Oscillators), Hi-Q THz Source, and Hi-Q RF Test & Measurement Systems.
Products and services
- Hi-Q Lasers (Ultra-Narrow Linewidth Laser Family) Family of ultra-narrow linewidth lasers using self-injection locking to crystalline WGM resonators with typical Q-factor exceeding one billion, covering wavelengths from 370 nm to 4500 nm (UV, blue, yellow-green, red, near-IR, L-band, C-band, mid-IR) and delivering sub-Hz to sub-10 Hz spectral linewidth. Customers purchase individual wavelength variants (e.g., OE4044 UV, OE4045 Blue, OE4055 Yellow-Green, OE4060 Red, OE4078 Near-IR, OE4087 L-Band, OE4040 C-Band, OE4330 3 µm, OE4335 3.5 µm, OE3745 Custom Wavelength).
- Hi-Q Integrated Laser System Complete laser system integrating self-injection locked lasers with amplifiers, controllers, and reference cavities in a compact package for quantum computing and precision sensing applications. Spectral linewidth sub-Hz to 10 Hz, wavelength range 370-4500 nm, thermal tuning up to 210 GHz, and scalable output power to multiple Watts.
- Quantum-Grade Stabilized Laser Reference Cavity Compact, fiber-coupled laser cavity optimized for quantum and sensing applications, providing frequency stability up to 10^-13 at 1 second with vibration sensitivity less than 10^-10/g, across 370-4500 nm wavelength coverage in a 14.7 cm x 13 cm x 2.5 cm package.
- Hi-Q Phase Lock System (Laser Offset) System enabling phase-lock of two independent lasers with frequency offset from 250 MHz to 250 GHz (1 GHz to 20 GHz offset range documented), delivering high stability and precision for quantum technology and metrology applications.
- OE3700 Hi-Q X-Band OEO Opto-electronic oscillator offering extremely low phase noise for X-band (8-12 GHz) signal generation, with +10 dBm RF output power and low vibration/acceleration sensitivity, used in radar, communications, and electronic warfare subsystems.
- OE3710 Hi-Q Ka-Band OEO Opto-electronic oscillator delivering unprecedented low phase noise and low vibration sensitivity for Ka-band (28-36 GHz) signal generation with +5 dBm RF output power.
- OE3720 Hi-Q THz Source Photonic THz source generating spectrally pure millimeter-wave signals via injection-locked lasers, tunable 40-110 GHz with SSB phase noise of -110 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset and 6 W power consumption.
- OE8000 Hi-Q RF Test & Measurement System Fast, fully automated homodyne-based phase noise measurement system for RF and microwave signal sources, eliminating the need for a separate low-noise reference source or down-converter, with 5 fs RMS timing jitter sensitivity (100 Hz - 10 MHz) and cross-correlation capability.
- OE8000W Hi-Q W-Band Ultra-Low Phase Noise Analyzer Fast, fully automated W-band phase noise analyzer using advanced microwave photonics for measurement of ultra-low phase noise in oscillators and amplifiers without an external reference source.
- OE4000 Hi-Q Multifunctional Laser Noise Analyzer Fully automated homodyne-based system for measuring ultra-low phase noise and frequency noise in CW laser sources, with multiple input wavelength bands between 400 nm and 2.2 µm, phase noise floor of -160 dBc/Hz above 1 MHz, and offset frequency range up to 40 GHz.
- OE4001 Hi-Q Laser RIN Analyzer Fully automated measurement system for ultra-low relative intensity noise (RIN) in CW laser sources with offset frequency range from 100 MHz to 110 GHz.
- OE0200 Ultra-High Q Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators Millimeter-scale WGM resonators exhibiting ultra-high quality factors exceeding 10^11 and finesse values over 17,500, fabricated from crystalline materials including calcium fluoride, lithium tantalate, quartz, silicon, and diamond; sold as standalone components for use in research and OEM photonic systems.
- Custom Photonic Development Services World-class co-development services for Government and Tier 1 Suppliers covering ultra-compact mmW sources, inertial sensing lasers, photonic radar, EMP-immune receivers, ultra-wideband analog RX, and photonic digital TX/RX. Contracted under Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Fixed Price Services, or Time and Materials structures.
Quantifiable outcome
- WGM resonators achieve Q-factors exceeding 10^11 and finesse values over 17,500, far surpassing conventional resonators
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use OEwaves
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
OEwaves technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
OEwaves partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)coreOEwaves and NASA's JPL co-authored a paper at CLEO 2026 demonstrating a compact and efficient entangled photon source using counter-propagating pump lasers in a high-Q magnesium fluoride WGM resonator. The scheme achieves high sideband generation efficiency with theoretical possibility of approaching unity (100%) power conversion efficiency under optimal conditions.
- Aurora (Xanadu and collaborators)coreOEwaves contributed key components (OE4040-XLN narrow-linewidth lasers) to Aurora, a modular photonic quantum computer combining 35 photonic chips networked over fiber optics. OEwaves' lasers serve as pump, local oscillator, and reference beams, enabling spectral purity and phase stability for squeezed state generation.
- NASAcoreOEwaves entered Phase II of an SBIR project with NASA to design, build, and demonstrate a fiber-based laser system for NASA's proposed space-based Quantum Gravity Gradiometer (QGG). The system integrates two ultra-narrow linewidth frequency-stabilized lasers with an optical amplifier, achieving linewidth narrower than 1 kHz and frequency stability better than 10^-14.
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)coreOEwaves was selected by NASA to develop a high-performance miniature photonic oscillator for W-band sensing for space applications. OEwaves and JPL also collaborated on entangled photon sources using counter-propagating pump lasers in high-Q WGM resonators, demonstrating near-unity power conversion efficiency for quantum information processing.
- Georgia TechcoreOEwaves partnered with Georgia Tech to pioneer a new RF photonic receiver front-end using silicon and silicon nitride integrated photonics. The project developed wideband chip-scale tuners with IF filtering capabilities, leveraging Georgia Tech's integrated photonic structures and OEwaves' analog photonic systems expertise.
- UCLAcoreOEwaves collaborated with UCLA's trapped-ion quantum computing group to develop a new class of extended-cavity ultra-stable diode laser systems for next-generation quantum computing and precision metrology. The project used OEwaves' proprietary self-injection locking technique.
- DARPAcoreOEwaves received a DARPA Phase II contract to develop and demonstrate an EMP-immune receiver using microwave photonics. The company also had a DARPA contract for tunable optoelectronic oscillators (OEOs) with wideband agility targeting UAV, radar, and communications applications.
- Lockheed Martin Corp. / RDECOM AMRDECcoreRDECOM Aviation & Missile Research & Engineering Center (AMRDEC) in Huntsville, AL, working in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, partnered with OEwaves to develop advanced missile system technologies. OEwaves demonstrated an Opto-Electronic Oscillator (OEO) as a novel, extremely small exciter for missile seeker systems — a revolutionary new local oscillator architecture for microwave and millimeter-wave systems.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OEwaves competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
OEwaves social profiles
Digital presenceOEwaves financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OEwaves leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
OEwaves funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OEwaves M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OEwaves
What does OEwaves do?
OEwaves designs, manufactures, and sells ultra-narrow linewidth lasers and photonic instruments built on its proprietary self-injection locking of semiconductor lasers to ultra-high-Q crystalline Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) microresonators. Its commercial portfolio spans the Hi-Q laser family (370-4500 nm), RF/mmWave/THz opto-electronic oscillators, W-band and RF phase noise analyzers, crystalline WGM resonator components, and custom photonic co-development services for government and Tier 1 supplier customers.
Is OEwaves a public or private company?
OEwaves is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was OEwaves founded?
OEwaves was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OEwaves based?
OEwaves is headquartered in Pasadena, United States, in the North America region.
How does OEwaves make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Laser and Photonic Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are test and Measurement Equipment Sales, custom Development Services and licensing / IP Royalties.
Does OEwaves have an API?
No public API is recorded for OEwaves.
What industry is OEwaves in?
OEwaves's product category is Precision Photonics and Narrow-Linewidth Lasers. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHALAL, Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL), with a secondary code of HDAGAHAM, Quantum Sensor Components & Subsystems (Lasers, Vacuum, Photonics, Diamond/NV, MEMS). Its NAICS code is 335139 and its SIC code is 3827.