Research using lasers and light-based technology. Covers electron control, metalens optics, mid-flight drone charging, and water purification.
Researchers use ultra-fast lasers to study chemical bond dissociation, shedding light on molecular behavior. The technique allows for detailed understanding of photochemical reactions and potential manipulation of chemical bonds.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated a terahertz quantum cascade laser that operates without cryogenic cooling, reaching temperatures of up to 210 K. This breakthrough removes the main obstacles to widespread use in various applications, including non-invasive imaging and quality control.
A worldwide coalition of researchers has agreed that light therapy is an effective intervention for preventing oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. The new guidelines recommend photobiomodulation therapy, a low-dose light therapy, to prevent the painful ulcers resulting from radiation therapy.
Researchers at UC San Diego are creating the world's first high-intensity twisted laser beams, also known as corkscrew light pulses. This achievement has potential applications in nuclear physics, astrophysics, and non-invasive tumor therapies.
Researchers are using computer models developed by astronomers to create a rapid diagnostic test that can detect cancerous tissue without unnecessary biopsies. The technology has also shown promise in treating non-melanoma skin cancer, with simulations indicating that it could be effective in killing cancer cells.
Frequency combs are widely-used tools for measuring and detecting different frequencies of light. Researchers from Harvard SEAS have found that some lasers use a variational principle to maintain constant intensity in the face of changing frequencies.
A Rutgers-led team has created a new way to unprint paper using pulses of intense xenon light, eliminating the need for conventional recycling. This method can erase multiple toner colors without damaging the paper, reducing energy costs and pollution.
Researchers at Graz University of Technology have manipulated ferromagnetic material properties on an electrical field oscillation scale, preserving quantum mechanical wave nature. This breakthrough accelerates technological miniaturization and opens new perspectives for applications in magnetism and electron spin.
Researchers from Jena have developed a device using laser light to detect tumors, providing real-time information for surgeons. This compact microscope combines three imaging techniques and uses artificial intelligence to analyze tissue samples, promising faster and more reliable results than traditional frozen section diagnostics.
Emberion's VIS-SWIR graphene photodetectors combine high sensitivity and low-cost material, enabling detection of organic products and spectral analysis. The product is a result of collaboration between the Graphene Flagship project and commercialization efforts.
Computer vision researchers demonstrate a new technique that enables them to reconstruct the shapes of unseen objects with great detail, including George Washington's profile on a U.S. quarter. The technique uses special light sources and sensors to see around corners or through gauzy filters.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered a new type of force that minimizes light usage in optical tweezers, reducing photo damage to cells. This breakthrough enables more realistic experiments with longer cell lifespans.
Researchers at DESY and the University of Hamburg achieved an important milestone in compact particle accelerator development. They produced high-energy terahertz pulses using ultra-powerful laser pulses, paving the way for new applications in fields like particle physics and nanomaterials research.
A new laser fabrication method called laser catapulting enables the creation of customized microlenses with varying shapes and optical properties. This technology has the potential to improve the performance of cameras, solar cells, and microscopes in various applications.
Researchers at ICFO have discovered a new type of optical singularity with the topology of a knot, which is topologically protected and robust against perturbations. This discovery expands light's degree of freedom and opens up new possibilities for applications in communication, microscopy, lithography, and spectroscopy.
Professor Patrizio Antici's In-Air PIL technique analyzes chemical composition and crystal characteristics of artworks, reducing complexity and costs. The method has potential applications in cultural heritage conservation and material science.
Researchers at NIST have created a compact apparatus that rapidly measures the entire infrared band of light to detect biological, chemical, and physical properties of matter. The system successfully detects signature vibrations of amide bands in a monoclonal antibody reference material, providing insights into protein structure.
Tohoku University researchers have developed a technique that improves on current photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques, allowing for the measurement of larger semiconducting crystals. The new approach uses a hollow sphere to minimize photon loss and test internal quantum efficiency, a key property of semiconductors.
Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena have successfully created plasma using nanowires and long-wavelength ultrashort pulse lasers. The new method achieves higher temperatures than previously thought possible in a laboratory setting, opening up new avenues for studying plasma and its properties.
A team of researchers has developed a new experimental and theoretical framework to interpret spectroscopic signals from magnetic materials when probed with extreme ultraviolet radiation. This allows for the disentanglement of signals from different elements in the material, enabling the study of complex dynamic processes.
Researchers at Kyushu University have successfully demonstrated the lasing by direct electrical stimulation of an organic film, overcoming previous performance limitations with improved materials and device structures. The breakthrough enables applications such as biosensing, displays, healthcare, and optical communications.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have successfully created colloidal particles that mimic atomic behavior, allowing for controlled interactions and assembly. By exposing these particles to different light sources, they can switch between attractive and repulsive forces.
Researchers are developing a light-based technology to increase energy available to brain cells and improve astronaut performance. The new LED device aims to replace lasers as the delivery method for near-infrared light to stimulate mitochondria and create more oxygen in the brain.
Scientists at Lobachevsky University and their Japanese colleagues tested the hypothesis of multi-photon photoemission by studying the behavior of gold nanorods under ultrafast laser excitation. The results contradict previous theories, instead supporting the tunnel emission mechanism as the primary process.
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology investigated photogenerated coherent phonons in GaAs using ultrafast dual pump-probe laser for quantum interferometry. They found that impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) dominates phonon generation, with ISRS causing zapping of vibrations in the solid lattice.
Researchers create molecular tethers to attach proteins to scaffolds, allowing for reversible functionalization while preserving activity. This approach enables precise control of protein signals, promoting tissue growth and differentiation.
Researchers developed a new contrast agent using ytterbium to overcome concentration quenching, allowing for improved optical imaging resolution beyond CT and PET technology. The breakthrough enables clearer visualization of whole mice, opening up potential applications in bio-imaging.
Scientists have developed a technique to directly observe an isolated quantum system, such as a gas of atoms, with unprecedented spatial resolution. This allows them to obtain details on a scale of tens of nanometers, enabling the calculation of wave function information and its effects.
Researchers at Osaka University have discovered that zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films exhibit the fastest excitonic radiative decay rate ever recorded, surpassing thermal dephasing rates. This breakthrough could lead to the development of ultra-fast and energy-efficient photonic devices with non-thermogenic properties.
Researchers at Lancaster University developed a method to record computer data using magnets and light pulses, reducing energy consumption. The new approach uses ultrashort pulses of light concentrated by special antennas on top of a magnet to switch the orientation of tiny magnets in magnetic hard-drives.
Scientists from SUTD have developed a plasmonic upconversion optical security device that displays an ultrahigh resolution color print under white light, while revealing different luminescent information under infrared illumination. The device uses monolayers of upconversion nanophosphors to achieve true color printing.
A team of researchers from the Universities of Münster, Oxford, and Exeter have developed a light-based hardware that mimics the behavior of neurons and synapses in the brain. The chip can process data much faster than traditional computers, enabling applications such as medical diagnoses and cancer cell identification.
Researchers at the University of Innsbruck have developed a quantum sensor that measures visible light particles without destroying them. The innovation, led by Tracy Northup, allows for tailored light fields to be generated through feedback loops, paving the way for future quantum applications.
Scientists create ultrathin device with silicon nanopillars to shape ultrafast light pulses, enabling controlled compression, splitting, and distortion. This technique has potential for high-speed communication and studying ultrafast phenomena.
Researchers at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have successfully transmitted data wirelessly using a semiconductor laser for the first time. The breakthrough enables the creation of ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi, paving the way for faster wireless communication.
Researchers at KAIST have designed an ultrathin display that can project dynamic, multi-colored 3D holographic images using tiny pinholes in a thin film. The system is small and scalable, paving the way for widespread applications of 3D holographic displays.
A team of researchers at RIT has developed a phonon laser for sound using the optical tweezer technique, which could lead to breakthroughs in sensing and information processing. The device uses an optically levitated nanoparticle to create a laser-like situation, enabling the investigation of fundamental quantum physics.
Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have made the first high-definition 'movie' of ring-shaped molecules breaking open in response to light. The results provide high-resolution details of the reaction, showing how bonds break and atoms jiggle around for extended periods of time.
Scientists at NRL discovered a new method to passivate defects in next generation optical materials, improving optical quality and enabling miniaturization of light emitting diodes. The technique produces a 100-fold increase in material's optical emission efficiency, paving the way for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices.
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has contributed to the special edition on ultrafast dynamics with X-ray methods, focusing on photochemistry and material science. Femtoslicing and BESSY VSR methods have been classified, providing a comprehensive overview of current advances in generating ultra-short X-ray pulses.
Researchers at EPFL have developed a new compact laser source that can detect greenhouse gases and molecules in a person's breath. The system uses a fiber laser combined with a micrometer waveguide chip to generate light waves in the mid-infrared spectrum, retaining 30% of the original signal strength.
Researchers have developed a novel concept for rapid data transfer using spin lasers, which can work at least five times faster than traditional systems and consume significantly less energy. The technology has the potential to revolutionize data transmission, but further optimization is needed.
Scientists demonstrate amplification of optical phonons in a metal-semiconductor nanostructure using THz pulses, showing potential for ultrasound imaging with sub-nanometer resolution. The amplification process relies on population inversion and stimulated emission of phonons.
Researchers use laser technology to improve on existing methods for measuring metabolic activity in cancer cells. The new technique, single-cell metabolic photoacoustic microscopy, allows for the analysis of around 3,000 cells in about 15 minutes, enabling more accurate assessments of cancer cell characteristics.
Researchers developed liquid crystal technology that can block a wide range of laser wavelengths, including red, blue, and green. The system uses a voltage-controlled phase change to scatter light and block laser beams.
Physicians at the University of Vienna have developed a novel method to cool nanoparticles using quantum optics, enabling unprecedented control over particle motion in ultra-high vacuum. The approach, inspired by atomic physics, harnesses scattered light from an optical tweezer to effectively cool particles' kinetic energy.
Researchers at Caltech have designed a way to levitate and propel macroscopic objects using specific nanoscale patterning on their surfaces. This technology has the potential to revolutionize space travel by powering spacecraft with light, potentially reaching nearby planets in 20 years.
Researchers at Penn State and Argonne National Laboratory created a stable supercrystal using a burst of blue laser light. The supercrystal has a unit cell one million times larger than ordinary crystals, with properties that don't exist in equilibrium nature.
Researchers from Harvard and Stanford have developed an integrated, on-chip frequency comb that is efficient, stable and highly controllable with microwaves. This breakthrough enables the creation of compact light sources for optical communication in data centers, facilitating fast and accurate data exchange.
Scientists have discovered that the direction of laser light hitting a molecule determines its chiral form. This breakthrough could lead to more efficient production of molecules with uniform chirality for pharmaceuticals. The research was conducted using the planar formic acid molecule and the reaction microscope method.
Researchers developed a new method of moving microscopic objects using micro-robotics, allowing for high-resolution sorting and imaging. The technique uses fluid flow to pinpoint specific particles without affecting others nearby.
Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a new way to control the light emitted by hybrid crystal semiconductors, which could lead to more efficient solar cells and other electronic devices. By adjusting voltage applied to an electrode, they can increase the intensity of light emitted up to 100 times.
Researchers have developed a method to build an anti-laser based on random scattering, which can absorb light of a specific color and dissipate energy. The new approach has been confirmed by experiments in cooperation with the University of Nice and opens up possibilities for various scientific and engineering applications.
Researchers at Yale University have developed a technique to pre-treat laser beams, allowing them to penetrate opaque surfaces undisturbed. This breakthrough has potential applications for deep-tissue imaging and optogenetics, where light is used to probe and manipulate cells in living tissue.
Researchers develop photoswitchable molecules that can be activated by pulsed infrared light, allowing for precise control over molecular activity. The technique achieves 100% efficiency and opens doors to applications in drug delivery and studying neuronal circuits.
JILA researchers have made a long-lived, record-cold gas of molecules that follow the wave patterns of quantum mechanics. The creation of this gas boosts the odds for advances in fields such as designer chemistry and quantum computing.
The researchers used electrostatic force microscopy with synchronized laser pulses to create a movie of recombination as it occurred, allowing them to spot speedy electrons and holes in motion. This new method may improve the efficiency of solar panels by reducing energy losses due to recombination.
Scientists have identified a brain pathway that underlies an effective therapy for sustainably reducing traumatic memories. The study found that alternating bilateral sensory stimulation (ABS) induces a persistent fear reduction by activating the superior colliculus and mediodorsal thalamic nucleus pathways, which suppresses fear expre...
Researchers at UCSB have developed a high-performance quantum dot mode-locked laser on silicon, which can increase data transmission capacity by an estimated decade. The technology has the potential to significantly improve data centers' and telecommunications companies' performance.
Researchers have taken snapshots of how C60 carbon molecules react to extremely short pulses of intense infrared light, transforming its shape from round to elongated. The findings may lead to new applications in ultrafast, light-controlled electronics.