Solnil

Solnil is a French deep-tech startup working at the intersection of materials science and nanofabrication for photonics. According to its official website, the company develops materials and etch-free nano-imprint processes for the large-scale fabrication of photonic metasurfaces, coatings and advanced optical components. Its core offering is a family of inorganic printable resins that enable high- and ultra-low-refractive-index nanostructures, aimed at applications including augmented reality, high-power lasers and next-generation photonics. The company positions its technology as an alternative to conventional thin-film deposition and etch-based manufacturing. Its etch-free, additive nano-imprint approach is presented as eliminating complex vacuum and etching steps, which the company says enables lower-cost, high-throughput and greener fabrication of photonic surfaces based on inorganic materials. Solnil also emphasizes tunable and extreme refractive indices, arguing that its high- and ultra-low-index resins allow precise control of optical properties for metasurfaces, antireflection structures and advanced wavefront control. On performance, Solnil states that its nano-printed optics achieve high transmission and laser damage thresholds comparable to bulk materials, improving durability in demanding applications. It also highlights process versatility and compatibility, describing additive processes on large wafers of glass, fused silica, silicon, SOI, silicon carbide, germanium, GOI and sapphire, as well as on curved surfaces, which broadens integration into optical systems. Solnil lists target application areas including augmented reality, metalenses, high-power lasers, structural colour and microfluidics. The company describes its technology as turning optical nanostructures into manufacturable products by combining lithographic precision, additive scalability, tunable refractive indices and performance that conventional thin films and etch-based methods cannot match. It is a privately held startup; specific details such as founding year, founders, headquarters location and ownership are not established by the available evidence.

Solnil is a French deep-tech startup in the photonics materials field. Public evidence about the company is currently limited to its official website and a Wikidata entry describing it as a French photonics materials company. The available material does not establish a founding date, founding team, headquarters city or ownership structure. What is documented is the company's technological focus. Solnil develops materials and etch-free nano-imprint processes for the large-scale fabrication of photonic metasurfaces, coatings and advanced optical components. Its inorganic printable resins are designed to produce high- and ultra-low-refractive-index nanostructures, targeting applications in augmented reality, high-power lasers and next-generation photonics. The company frames its approach as a departure from conventional optics manufacturing. Traditional fabrication of metasurfaces and advanced optical components often relies on vacuum deposition and etching. Solnil's etch-free, additive nano-imprint process is presented as eliminating those complex steps, enabling lower-cost, high-throughput and greener fabrication of photonic surfaces based on inorganic materials. Solnil also emphasizes optical performance and process compatibility. It states that its nano-printed optics achieve high transmission and laser damage thresholds comparable to bulk materials, and that its additive processes can be applied to large wafers of glass, fused silica, silicon, SOI, silicon carbide, germanium, GOI and sapphire, as well as curved surfaces. The company lists augmented reality, metalenses, high-power lasers, structural colour and microfluidics among its target applications. As a startup, Solnil's commercial history, funding rounds, customers and production scale are not described in the available evidence. The dossier should be updated as further verified information becomes available.

Deep-tech photonics materials startup offering etch-free, scalable nano-imprint manufacturing as an alternative to conventional thin-film and etch-based optics fabrication.

• Inorganic printable resins

  Printable inorganic resins enabling high- and ultra-low-refractive-index nanostructures for photonic metasurfaces and advanced optical components.

• Etch-free nano-imprint process

  Additive nano-imprint manufacturing process that eliminates complex vacuum and etching steps for scalable photonic surface fabrication.

• Photonic metasurfaces

  Metasurfaces fabricated at large scale for applications such as augmented reality, metalenses and wavefront control.

1. 1SOLNIL | Nano-Imprint Materials for Advanced Photonicssolnil.com
2. 2Solnil - Wikidatawikidata.org