GoPhotonics interviewed Ernius Karolis Kapačinskas, the CEO of Alien Photonics. Ernius is a Physicist-Entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience in the photonics industry. Starting from entry-level positions, he quickly progressed to management roles. He holds two master’s degrees from Vilnius University - one in Physics and one in Business Management - which helps him connect technical understanding with organizational needs. Over the years, he has worked with photonics companies and research groups worldwide, consulting them on optical components and supporting their projects.

Q. What is the origin story of Alien Photonics? When did the company begin and what were its initial goals? How has it changed over time?

Ernius: Before founding Alien Photonics, I’ve met numerous optics purchasers and engineers around the world. A few key takeaways from our meetings - they wanted greater pricing transparency and more control when specifying components. While most optics firms focus solely to OEMs offering fully custom solutions, other firms concentrate on catalog-based selling - while quite rare - is proven to be highly successful. That’s why we built a hybrid catalog-plus-custom platform that lets users modify catalog items in real time online. We simply call it “the quotation system”. That concept became the foundation of how Alien Photonics interacts with customers online. Our love of science fiction inspired the name “Alien Photonics”.

Q. Could you outline the core products Alien Photonics offers and explain how they serve the needs of research institutions and industry partners?

Ernius: We focus on three core product groups - Laser Optics, Polarizers, Lenses. These products are essential building blocks of solid-state lasers. Laser optics, such as mirrors are used to guide laser beams, while various beamsplitters - manipulate laser beams. Alien Photonics polarizers are used for polarization separation, rotation and conversion tasks. Finally - lenses - used to converge or diverge the light. Our products are used by laser manufacturers, optical systems integrators, and academic researchers to develop and produce optics-based devices.

Q. What steps does Alien Photonics take to guarantee precision and quality in glass polishing, optical coatings, and metrology?

Ernius: Alien Photonics follows industry standards. Long story short - we confirm the specifications, and we deliver the result. It is worth to note that Alien Photonics precision lenses - conical, aspheric - are produced using CNC polishing technology. Optical components are coated using industry-adopted thin-film coating technologies: e-beam, Ion Beam Sputtering or Magnetron Sputtering.

Intermediate metrology (like cross-checking the substrate quality after polishing and just before proceeding with the coating) helps prevent defects. Our motto “cosmic quality - earthly prices” reflects our commitment to top-tier performance at competitive cost. We typically offer 30-day net payment, providing a risk-free window for our customers to validate the optics in their setups. 

Q. How does Alien Photonics handle custom measurement requirements for optical components used in specialized applications?

Ernius: For any measurement beyond our in-house capabilities, we celebrate the fact that we are based in Vilnius, Lithuania, a place with extremely favourable photonics ecosystem. Dozens of great companies and research labs less than hour away from Alien Photonics headquarters, making close partnerships and rapid collaboration possible. Alien Photonics actively supervises and coordinates the measurement even if it is out of scope as a single company. 

Q. What key takeaways do you expect from Alien Photonics’ participation in SPIE Photonics West 2025, and how do you anticipate these will influence the company’s future?

Ernius: Photonics West 2025 was a great show, personally I was on my feet the whole time walking from booth to booth meeting a lot of people and participating in the supporting events.  Our next stop this year was Laser World of Photonics in Munich. At this trade fair Alien Photonics had a stand and received numerous visits of potential new partners. 

Based on my personal experience, both Photonics West and Laser World of Photonics in Munich create numerous new opportunities and these shows have very positive influence. These leading industry events have a highly positive impact on any photonics company including Alien Photonics.

Q. How does Alien Photonics’ initiative to donate photonics kits to schools fit into the company’s broader mission and vision?

Ernius: In 2024, Alien Photonics was a co-winner of Day of Photonics Championship. The Photonics Kit donation was done by Day Of Photonics organizer and supporters - CD6 and Fotónica 21. We were proud to deliver the prize to one of the local schools in Lithuania.

While it doesn’t directly fit into Alien Photonics revenue strategy, it fits well within higher goals and vision - to increase curiosity in young minds about light science and physics in general. We plan to do similar donations in the future when celebrating the day of photonics and other events.

Q. What distinguishes Alien Photonics’ laser line mirrors and beam splitters, especially in high-power laser applications?

Ernius: Our optics meet high LIDT standards, and we advise our customers’ on LIDT, if they are not entirely sure if components are suitable.  We are proud and confident in our laser line mirrors and polarizing cube beamsplitters for high-energy applications. While performance matters, but so does the process. What really sets us apart is our quotation system - it guides users through all key parameters including laser damage threshold. This process ensures that nothing critical is missed.

Q. Do you offer mainly standard catalog products or customized solutions? What aspects can customers typically customize?

Ernius: We offer both. Internally we keep track of catalog-based requests vs. fully custom requests. This year (2025) it is about 50-50. Well, maybe slightly more on catalog side. Customers can start from blank product form or choose similar product in catalog as a base. The next step is, editing the characteristics, like material, size, surface quality, flatness, LIDT, design wavelength, etc.

We don’t restrict the input options - customers can modify any attribute they want. Their only limit is imagination. Furthermore, they can add notes for specific request, e.g. packing, marking, other custom requirements, etc. For very complex and custom parts, we recommend to just send us a drawing and skip the form - it is a common practice when working with complex optical components.

Q. Can you share some details about your customer base and how Alien Photonics supports its international clients?

Ernius: The vast majority of Alien Photonics customers are from Asia and Western Europe. Currently we work directly - no distributors - offering competitive pricing and rapid communication. In 2025, the largest customer base is R&D customers - including universities, research centres and institutes. With 30-day net payment terms for research institutions, they get enough time to integrate and verify our optics before settling the invoice - ensuring absolute confidence in product quality.

Q. What are Alien Photonics’ key plans and upcoming product launches for 2025 and beyond?

Ernius: By the end of 2025, two new products in the polarizers category will be launched, further expanding one of our most important product groups. In parallel with product development activities, we are collecting user feedback and developing additional improvements to enhance our optics quotation system.

About Alien Photonics

Alien Photonics provides advanced optical products and solutions. The company is known for delivering complex, high-precision optical components tailored to the needs of institutes, universities, laser manufacturers, quantum photonics developers, and other cutting-edge photonics companies.