This issue of Photonics Focus explores the ever-shrinking world of microelectronics. One story highlights how researchers are moving beyond Moore's Law with an expectation that, by 2030, they will be able to fit 1 trillion devices on a silicon wafer. Another feature looks at astronomers' plans to search for Earth-like planets with tiny deformable mirrors. A third story looks at the bright promise for VCSELs (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) to move beyond their great sucess as data center interconnects. 

Photo credit: Gettyimages - Science Photo Library - ALFRED PASIEKA