An optical coating like no other
For more than a century, optical coatings have been used to better reflect certain wavelengths of light from lenses and other devices or, conversely, to better transmit certain wavelengths through them. For example, the coatings on tinted eyeglasses.....»»
A thousand times smaller than a grain of sand—glass sensors 3D-printed on optical fiber
In a first for communications, researchers in Sweden 3D printed silica glass micro-optics on the tips of optic fibers—surfaces as small as the cross section of a human hair. The advance could enable faster internet and improved connectivity, as wel.....»»
New optical tweezers can trap large and irregularly shaped particles
Researchers have developed new optical tweezers that can stably trap particles that are large—about 0.1 mm—and irregularly shaped. While conventional optical tweezers use highly focused laser beams to trap micro- or nano-scale rod shaped or spher.....»»
Scientists create an "optical conveyor belt" for quasiparticles
Using interference between two lasers, a research group led by scientists from RIKEN and NTT Research have created an "optical conveyor belt" that can move polaritons—a type of light-matter hybrid particle—in semiconductor-based microcavities. Th.....»»
Optical power evolution in fiber-optic networks: New framework for better modeling and control
With the emergence of internet services such as AI-generated content and virtual reality, the demand for global capacity has surged, significantly intensifying pressures on fiber-optic communication systems. To address this surge and reduce operation.....»»
Parity-time symmetry: Unlocking faster and stronger optical signal processing
In the era of big data, signal processing faces significant challenges in terms of capacity and energy consumption due to the torrent of data to process. With over 90% of data transmitted through light, optical signal processing may offer unprecedent.....»»
Researchers demonstrate low-loss and polarization-independent integrated optical colorless ROADM
The implementation of integrated optical switches shows promise in the size reduction of ROADMs for greater flexibility and compactness, ultimately leading to robust single-chip solutions. Despite decades of research on switches with various structur.....»»
Researchers harness blurred light to 3D-print high-quality optical components
Canadian researchers have developed a new 3D printing method called blurred tomography that can rapidly produce microlenses with commercial-level optical quality. The new method may make it easier and faster to design and fabricate a variety of optic.....»»
Researchers demonstrate enhanced radiative heat transfer for nanodevices
Researchers from Japan have been working hard to keep their cool—or at least—keep their nanodevices from overheating. By adding a tiny coating of silicon dioxide to micro-sized silicon structures, they were able to show a significant increase in.....»»
Scientists create black arsenic visible infrared photodetectors
In recent years, the exceptional structure and fascinating electrical and optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) layered crystals have attracted widespread attention. Examples of such crystals include graphene, black phosphorus (BP), and transiti.....»»
Materials scientists reveal pathway for designing optical materials with specialized properties
While we usually think of disorder as a bad thing, a team of materials science researchers led by Rohan Mishra, from Washington University in St. Louis, and Jayakanth Ravichandran, from the University of Southern California, have revealed that—when.....»»
Tweaking isotopes sheds light on promising approach to engineer semiconductors
Research led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has demonstrated that small changes in the isotopic content of thin semiconductor materials can influence their optical and electronic properties, possibly opening.....»»
Physicists create an optical tweezer array of individual polyatomic molecules for the first time
A team of physicists at Harvard University has succeeded in trapping individual polyatomic molecules in optical tweezer arrays for the first time. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how they achieved their feat and th.....»»
Researcher creates optical magnetometer prototype that detects errors in MRI scans
Hvidovre Hospital has the world's first prototype of a sensor capable of detecting errors in MRI scans using laser light and gas. The new sensor, developed by a young researcher at the University of Copenhagen and Hvidovre Hospital, can thereby do wh.....»»
Fluidic telescope (FLUTE): Enabling the next generation of large space observatories
The future of space-based UV/optical/IR astronomy requires ever larger telescopes. The highest priority astrophysics targets, including Earth-like exoplanets, first generation stars, and early galaxies, are all extremely faint, which presents an ongo.....»»
iPhone 16 may come in new color-infused green
A leaker claims to have seen what Apple's rumored green color-infused coating for the iPhone 16 and maybe the iPhone 16 Pro looks like.The "Alpine Green" back of the iPhone 13 ProOne previous leaker claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro would come solely in.....»»
Optical barcodes expand range of high-resolution sensor
The same geometric quirk that lets visitors murmur messages around the circular dome of the whispering gallery at St. Paul's Cathedral in London or across St. Louis Union Station's whispering arch also enables the construction of high-resolution opti.....»»
NASA"s Deep Space Optical Communications demonstration transmits data over 140 million miles
Riding aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft, the agency's Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration continues to break records. While the asteroid-bound spacecraft doesn't rely on optical communications to send data, the new technology ha.....»»
Crinkled coatings could prevent medical implants from failing
Medical implants could fail less often when coated with a microscopically crinkled, ceramic material designed by researchers at the University of Michigan. The coating is described in a paper published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces......»»
Compact quantum light processing: New findings lead to advances in optical quantum computing
An international collaboration of researchers, led by Philip Walther at University of Vienna, have achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum technology, with the successful demonstration of quantum interference among several single photons using.....»»
Sink to source: Does what we put into our plumbing end up back in the water supply?
When you see an advertisement for a detergent promising to brighten your clothes, something called a fluorescent whitening compound, or optical brightener, is probably involved. Such material absorbs UV light and emits visible blue light via fluoresc.....»»