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Enantioresolution turns bright but racemic gold-silver clusters into circularly polarized emitters

Researchers successfully created circularly polarized emitters from racemic gold-silver clusters by separating them into mirror-image forms using chiral oxygen-donor ligands. The phosphate-protected enantiomer pair exhibited high photoluminescence quantum yields and luminescence dissymmetry factors.

SourceNational Institutes of Natural Sciences·JournalAdvanced Optical Materials·TypeExperimental study·DateSep 28, 2026

A dynamic twist of light’s ‘handedness’

The Harvard researchers' new device is elegantly designed to be tunable, with a bilayer design that becomes geometrically chiral and able to 'read' chiral light. By using the MEMS device to continuously vary the twist angle and interlayer spacing, the team showed they could tune the device's intrinsic ability to read different chiral l...

An unexpected breakthrough in flat optics

A team from Harvard and University of Lisbon found that silica, a low-refractive index material, can be used for making metasurfaces despite long-held assumptions. They discovered that by carefully considering the geometry of each nanopillar, silica behaves as a metasurface, enabling efficient design of devices with relaxed feature sizes.

SourceHarvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences·JournalNano Letters·TypeExperimental study·DateJan 14, 2026

Quantum uncertainty tamed at the University of Arizona

The team developed a new method to produce ultrafast squeezed light, which can fluctuate between intensity and phase-squeezing by adjusting the position of fused silica relative to the split beam. This breakthrough could lead to more secure communication and advance fields like quantum sensing, chemistry, and biology.

SourceUniversity of Arizona·JournalNature·TypeExperimental study·DateOct 2, 2025

Major step for flat and adjustable optics

Scientists at Linköping University have made a significant breakthrough in creating controllable flat optics using nanostructures on a flat surface. By precisely controlling the distance between antennas, they achieved up to tenfold improvement in performance, opening up new avenues for applications such as video holograms and biomedic...

SourceLinköping University·JournalNature Communications·DateMay 21, 2025

Polarization control of photonic molecules with evanescent wave coupling

A team of scientists has achieved full polarization control of photons through photonic molecules consisting of two 1D photonic crystal nanobeam cavities. The coupling between PMs is influenced by air gap d and relative displacement s, allowing for high controllability. This breakthrough enables direct control of the local optical fiel...

Illuminating the twist: light-driven inversion of supramolecular chirality

The study successfully manipulated the formation of left-handed or right-handed helical aggregates using precise light control, exhibiting promising insights into novel functional materials. The researchers found that residual aggregates acted as nucleation sites forming oppositely directed helical assemblies under certain conditions.

SourceChiba University·JournalNature Nanotechnology·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 11, 2025

Integrated photonic polarizers with 2D reduced graphene oxide

Integrated photonic polarizers with 2D reduced graphene oxide are reported, achieving up to 47-dB polarization-dependent loss and 16-dB polarization extinction ratio. The devices exhibit better performance than those with graphene oxide, demonstrating the potential of 2D materials in high-performance optical polarizers.

SourceCompuscript Ltd·JournalOpto-Electronic Science·DateApr 10, 2025

Designing molecules that produce color-changing circular light for 3D displays and security printing

Scientists develop mechanochromic luminescence using chiral pyrenylprolinamides, a significant step towards widespread implementation of materials with switchable solid-state CPL. The findings provide new design guidelines for creating molecules that enable solid-state CPL switching through mechanical stimuli.

SourceYokohama National University·JournalAngewandte Chemie International Edition·DateFeb 10, 2025

The art and science of twisting light

A team of researchers from Singapore University of Technology and Design has developed a new type of metasurface that can generate circularly polarized light without complex optical setups. The metasurface exhibits chirality, enabling it to convert arbitrary optical excitation into circularly polarized light at specific frequency ranges.

SourceSingapore University of Technology and Design·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJan 17, 2025

Subcycle conservation law in strong-field ionization

Researchers have identified a subcycle conservation law between angular momentum and energy during strong-field ionization, as revealed by the analysis of correlated spectrum of angular momentum and energy. This law remains applicable down to the subcycle level, offering new understanding of light-matter interactions.

SourceUltrafast Science·JournalUltrafast Science·DateOct 30, 2024

New 'chiral vortex' of light reveals molecular mirror images

A new structure of light has been discovered that can accurately measure chirality in molecules, a property of asymmetry important in physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. This 'chiral vortex' provides an accurate and robust form of measurement, allowing for the detection of chiral biomarkers.

SourceMax Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI)·JournalNature Photonics·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateSep 2, 2024

Breaking through silicon

The team achieves nanofabrication of nanostructures buried deep inside silicon wafers, enabling sub-wavelength and multi-dimensional control directly inside the material. The breakthrough opens up new possibilities for developing nano-scale systems with unique architectures.

SourceBilkent University Faculty of Science·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 16, 2024

SLAC’s high-speed electron camera uncovers a new ‘light-twisting’ behavior in an ultrathin material

Researchers discovered a promising approach to manipulating light in an ultrathin material that could be useful for devices like LEDs and medical imaging. The study used SLAC's world-leading instrument to visualize the electric and magnetic fields of terahertz pulses, indicating circular polarization in the material.

SourceDOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory·JournalNano Letters·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 10, 2024

Gold nanoparticles that selectively emit left-/right-handed light

Researchers found that chiral gold nanoparticles exhibit high selectivity for left- or right-handed circularly polarized light with a dissymmetry factor of approximately 0.7, outperforming previous materials. The findings suggest potential applications in anti-counterfeiting and quantum information using circularly polarized light.

SourceNational Institutes of Natural Sciences·JournalAdvanced Optical Materials·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 4, 2024

Low-loss and polarization insensitive 32 x 4 optical switch for ROADM applications

A new paper demonstrates a low-loss and polarization-independent integrated optical colorless ROADM with a 32 x 4 optical switch. The device boasts below 2 dB fiber-to-fiber loss at 1550 nm, making it suitable for applications such as optical neural networks and integrated quantum photonics.

Study shows: 2D materials rotate light polarization

A German-Indian research team has achieved a significant breakthrough in developing miniaturized optical isolators by utilizing ultra-thin two-dimensional materials. The researchers successfully rotated the polarization of visible light by several degrees under small magnetic fields, paving the way for on-chip integration of optical co...

SourceUniversity of Münster·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 22, 2024

Will the convergence of light and matter in Janus particles transcend performance limitations in the optical display industry?

Researchers pioneer technique to control polaritons, unlocking potential for next-generation materials and surpassing performance limitations of optical displays. The breakthrough enables stable generation of polariton particles with enhanced brightness and color control.

SourcePohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateApr 8, 2024