Optics Valley

These observatories benefit from clear skies and isolated peaks, creating superior observing conditions.

These companies were responsible for bringing in hundreds of millions in revenue and creating thousands of high-income jobs.

More recent estimates put the number at over 300 individual organizations in the optics industry in Arizona.

The Optics Valley Committee and its parent organization, AZTC, are strategic growth partners in the program.

“Between 1996 and 2006, the state's optics industry went from generating $236 million and employing 2,300 people to generating $2.3 billion and employing 25,000, according to a 2008 report from the Office of Economic and Policy Analysis at the University of Arizona.” [6] The industry continues to be an economic powerhouse on a global scale and remains lucrative for business leaders in Arizona.

Phoenix, Arizona skyline. Phoenix is a technology and advanced manufacturing hub where optics and photonics technologies are developed and applied broadly in aerospace, automotive, defense, biomedicine, and semiconductor industries.
Tucson, Arizona skyline. Optics is considered the crown jewel of industry clusters in Tucson with research, innovation and companies spawned from nearby research centers.
The Charles Trumbull Hayden Library , at 300 East Orange Mall on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University.
The Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham , east of Tucson