Articles tagged with Optics
A new computational model accounts for individual differences in human color vision, revealing why modern display colors can vary across viewers. The model suggests that adjusting the primary colors of a display can improve color consistency for a wider range of people.
Researchers create 3D light fields to excite electrons into previously inaccessible quantum states, opening up new avenues for investigating chiral structures and controlling light-matter interactions. This approach could lead to advances in chiral sensing and molecular chirality studies.
Researchers have developed a new paradigm in computational imaging that achieves video-rate capture of dynamic scenes using a single-core optical fiber and a single-pixel photodetector. The system utilizes highly stabilized dual optical frequency combs and a deep-learning transformer model to reconstruct high-fidelity target images.
Optica has elected three new board members, Peter J. Delfyett, Sterling Backus and Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, who will bring their expertise and leadership to the organization. Delfyett, a renowned ultrafast optics expert, will serve as 2027 Optica Vice President.
Researchers develop metasurface optical differentiator that performs spin-multiplexed differentiation and high-resolution imaging simultaneously. The device enables fast, parallel processing of optical information for real-time biological imaging, material inspection, and machine vision applications.
Research reveals that particle shape and rotation angle determine optical torques and forces, especially in paraxial optical systems. The study discovers rotational freezing accompanied by stable lateral drift, a phenomenon influenced by geometric asymmetry and particle dimensions.
Researchers have developed a laser-powered technology that accelerates antibody-antigen interactions to detect tiny amounts of a colorectal cancer biomarker within minutes. This technology has the potential to improve cancer diagnosis by increasing detection sensitivity and speed.
A scalable optical-neural processor can detect deepfake videos with high accuracy while analyzing 15 or more video streams simultaneously. The system achieves an average detection accuracy of 97.79% and sensitivity of 99.86% in a visible-wavelength experimental demonstration.
Scientists have developed a self-aligned heterogeneous photonic integration method that combines diamond and titanium dioxide for low-loss architecture, enabling practical quantum networks and computers. The approach demonstrates key device functions on chip, including hybrid optical cavities and spin state control.
Researchers propose adaptive optics-based surface plasmon resonance holographic microscopy for background-free quantitative phase imaging. The method eliminates wavefront aberrations and enables high-quality imaging of samples with dense cell layers, promising applications in biomedical and materials science.
A novel optical singularity protractor enables precise rotation sensing with neuromorphic sensing, overcoming limitations of traditional Doppler-based methods. The approach decodes rotational frequency shift by tracking phase singularity trajectories, achieving high-precision and robust performance in complex scenarios.
This technology optimizes the structural design and placement of barrier materials to enhance light-signal transmission in photonic integrated circuits. It improves the deposition and manipulation of silicon carbon nitride and silicon nitride, leading to enhanced PIC reliability and longevity.
The robotic lab can autonomously assemble and fine-tune optics experiments, reducing manual setup time from days or months to minutes. This could enable scientists to focus on theoretical work and accelerate innovation in fields like quantum technologies and renewable energy.
A new microscopy technique captures rapid calcium dynamics across extended neuronal structures, revealing sub-threshold and suprathreshold spatiotemporal modes in neurons. The dual-view Bessel two-photon projection microscopy achieves a volumetric imaging rate of 100 Hz, surpassing conventional sequential scanning.
Researchers used photons and electrons to create hollow gold nanoboxes, differing in material properties, and demonstrated that beam observation affects chemical reactions.
A novel QBIC-MQW chip for machine vision has been developed with a tunable nonlinear photoresponse and a linear photoresponse modulated by incident angle and external bias voltage. The chip enables high-efficiency optoelectronic response and low-energy consumption for real-time object tracking and optically encrypted communication.
The US National Science Foundation has funded the ZEUS laser facility for another 5 years, enabling new experiments in physics and technology. The facility, run by the University of Michigan, will undergo upgrades, including a larger target chamber and AI integration, to explore quantum and cosmic scales.
Researchers developed a tiny mirror that can control light in three dimensions at record speeds, enabling faster and smaller optical systems for brain imaging, augmented reality and precision manufacturing. This technology could lead to smaller, mountable miniature microscopes for studying neurobiology and lighter glasses and headsets ...
Researchers have developed high-efficiency weak-PEF III-nitride blue LEDs on the polar c-plane, demonstrating high peak external quantum efficiency and wavelength stability. The devices also exhibit strong lateral carrier confinement, reducing efficiency degradation from sidewall effects in small-size micro-LEDs.
A research team developed a dual-mode phototransistor based on a PtTe₂/WS₂ van der Waals heterostructure, achieving high sensitivity and low dark current. The device enables multi-state information processing and quaternary image encryption with a high adjacent-pixel correlation coefficient reduction.
A team of scientists has developed a heterogeneous metalens array that overcomes the FOV limitation of conventional microlens arrays, achieving a 50° FOV 3D display and expanding the field of view by about fourfold. The architecture is highly scalable and demonstrates physically accurate focus and defocus behaviors.
Graphene diffractive zone plates can produce wavelength-dependent focal and interference patterns that serve as physical responses. AI analysis transforms these patterns into compact binary security responses.
The jETZT project explores new forms of collaboration, sharing research infrastructure and expertise to facilitate innovation and practical applications. Key focuses include shared use of high-quality research equipment, cooperation platform, and standardized procedures to overcome legal and administrative barriers.
M. Emre Celebi, a professor at the University of Central Arkansas, has been named editor-in-chief of the Journal of Electronic Imaging, starting January 1, 2027. He brings expertise in artificial intelligence and image processing to the role, having previously served as an associate editor for the journal and other publications.
Researchers have identified four distinct thorium-229 sites in calcium fluoride, which affects the nuclear transition and is crucial for future solid-state nuclear clocks. The study provides foundational data for designing compact nuclear clocks, enabling advances in navigation, synchronized communication, and precision measurement.
Distributed Acoustic Sensing enables standard optical fiber cables to detect vibrations, acoustic waves, and dynamic strain over long distances. The review highlights the technology's rapid growth and increasing importance, with applications in geophysics, civil engineering, transportation, and environmental monitoring.
The spin states of myoglobin heme iron in aqueous solutions at room temperature were investigated using nitrogen K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The study found spin equilibriums between different states in deoxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin.
Researchers create powerful optical device with layered semiconductor and metasurface, enhancing nonlinear frequency conversion and enabling efficient light mixing and transformation. The device has potential applications in telecommunications, quantum communication, and photonic quantum computing.
Researchers developed a novel β-Ga2O3 photo-synapse that uses self-trapped holes to achieve improved stability and performance. The device exhibited excellent short-term and long-term plasticity, outperforming previous devices, and was integrated into neuromorphic machine vision systems for diversified in-sensor computing tasks.
ISTA researchers have secured 5 ERC Starting Grants to fund innovative projects in AI, astrophysics, and optics. The grants will support early-career researchers in understanding bacterial immune systems and developing new microscope techniques to study elusive quantum matter.
A recent study shows how advanced optical imaging can reveal the metabolic activity of individual immune cells within a complex blood sample. Machine-learning algorithms were used to determine whether metabolic measurements alone could identify different immune-cell populations and detect immune activation.
A new platform using liquid-crystal Poincaré-sphere-connected diffractive neural networks enables large-scale photonic in-memory computing with minimal data-movement overheads and ultralow static power. It achieves a 100,000-fold improvement in memory capacity over state-of-the-art platforms.
Cobalt-based electrocatalysts have shown high efficiency in reducing nitrate to ammonia, with some achieving 100% Faradaic efficiency. Researchers have discovered alloying cobalt with other metals and engineering crystal structures can fine-tune the reaction pathway to favor ammonia production.
Researchers developed an ultrafast infrared near-field optical microscopy technique that enables frequency-selective imaging of phonon polariton without sacrificing ultrafast time resolution. The technique reveals ultrafast optical modulation of phonon polariton in van der Waals heterostructures.
Optical convolution computation enables parallel light propagation and multiplexing for faster and more energy-efficient computing systems. The review organizes the field into two paradigms: definition-based and theorem-based, which leverage mathematical principles to implement convolution operations in the physical domain.
A team of researchers from Wits and Bordeaux demonstrated a new way to send information through the atmosphere without correcting for atmospheric distortion. The findings, published in Science Advances, could help pave the way for more reliable long-distance optical communication, including links to satellites and spacecraft.
SEAS researchers demonstrate a unique 'all-mechanical coherence protection' of a silicon-vacancy spin in diamond using continuous mechanical driving fields made of phonons. This approach extends the spin coherence time by roughly a factor of three, establishing the potential for compact, sound-based quantum networks on chips.
A new metalens array architecture eliminates vergence-accommodation conflict and offers a wide field of view, achieving a 50° FOV 3D display. The system is highly scalable, with simulations indicating a 86° FOV limit.
A five-university Japan-Taiwan research consortium is developing core technologies for circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs), a type of next-generation semiconductor optical device. The project aims to accelerate breakthroughs in circularly polarized light emission technology.
Researchers developed a quantum light translator that preserves phase information through four-wave mixing, enabling secure communication networks and quantum computing. The study demonstrates strong phase preservation across a wide range of operating conditions, with correlations exceeding 0.95 in some cases.
The PH-LITES sensor uses parallel heterodyne LITES to detect multiple gases simultaneously, achieving record-high OPL/V and significantly enhancing gas absorption signals. It enables high-speed detection capability through parallel heterodyne modulation and accurate mapping of gas concentrations from a single QTF output.
Researchers developed an AI-driven framework for designing thermochromic smart windows with enhanced directional privacy protection and efficient thermal management. The smart windows can adapt to various climates and reduce energy losses in buildings, offering significant energy savings.
Shunkai, developed by Professor Kenji Ohmori's team, integrates multiple layers for practical quantum computing, overcoming scalability and error correction challenges. The system uses 50 qubits initially, with plans to expand to 500 qubits, and will be partially open to external users for application development and demonstration.
Researchers propose a reconfigurable ferroelectric chiral nanostructure for fast-switchable optical differentiation, achieving remarkable performances in edge detection. The device can switch between optical differentiation and bright-field imaging, with a switching time of 62 microseconds.
The team demonstrated ultrahigh Q integrated germano-silicate microresonators on silicon using flame hydrolysis deposition, achieving a propagation loss as low as 0.07 dB per metre. This work brings fibre-level low loss to photonic chips, enabling scalable and deployable chip systems for next-generation applications.
Researchers developed an AI-driven framework for thermochromic smart windows, achieving ultrahigh simultaneous modulation of near-infrared and longwave infrared emissions. The smart window enables climate-adaptive thermal management without compromising commercial privacy protection.
Researchers developed high-efficiency and stable deep-blue OLEDs using iridium phosphorescent complexes with enhanced charge transfer dynamics. The devices achieved maximum external quantum efficiencies of up to 29.0% and demonstrated operational stability, paving the way for next-generation microdisplay and display technologies.
A research team at Pohang University of Science and Technology developed technologies for producing sharp full-color images using metalenses, addressing two major challenges: high optical performance and scalable manufacturing. The team solved the issue of achromatic performance by controlling the height of nanoscale pillars, enabling ...
A German research team has successfully generated stable laser pulses in the femtosecond range, allowing for the manipulation of individual electrons. The team's achievement enables the stability of the electric field oscillations across a wide range of timescales, from microseconds to hours.
A new framework models and optimizes radiative cooling under haze conditions, finding haze selectively scatters sunlight more strongly than it degrades infrared thermal radiation. This asymmetry shifts design priority, recommending coolers maximize infrared emission under haze-polluted skies.
Researchers create a new class of narrowband emission materials by optimizing the structure of molecules in aggregates. The FWHM of PDBP-b,i reaches 13 nm, demonstrating an ultra-narrow emission with excellent optical performance.
Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a lower-cost imaging system that overcomes challenges in near-infrared light transmission through deep tissue and dense fog. The AI-enhanced time-gating technique produces clearer images in these environments, improving applications such as cancer detection and LiDAR systems.
Researchers introduce interferometric scattering-based optical tomoslicing, controlling scattering to shape transparent solids. They achieve precise manufacturing, cutting solids into ultrathin crystalline wafers with kerf widths as narrow as 7 nm.
A new paradigm addresses challenges in distributed acoustic sensing by combining physical models with AI-driven generative modeling and denoising. The framework achieves high accuracy in fault diagnosis and event recognition, opening up scalable and precise acoustic monitoring for industrial safety and infrastructure applications.
A team of scientists proposes a dispersion-assisted polarization engineering strategy to achieve high-purity linearly polarized emission from compact BIC lasers. The approach relies on far-field beam-polarization matching, resulting in consistent linear polarization across the entire beam cross-section. Experimental validation demonstr...
Shengxi Huang, associate professor at Rice University, was elected a SPIE Fellow for her contributions to optics and photonics. The recognition acknowledges her work in multidisciplinary fields involving optics, photonics, and imaging.
A team of scientists has developed an implantable optical fiber electrochemical sensor to monitor state-of-charge in sodium-ion batteries. The sensor achieves sub-micron spatial resolution and refractive index resolution of 10^-6 RIU, allowing for precise tracking of ion kinetics.
Researchers developed a novel method to probe how mirror-image materials structure acts like a microscopic filter, influencing electron separation and movement. The approach allows for faster testing of promising materials for spintronics and optoelectronics technologies.
The competition brings seven teams together to pitch optics and photonics technologies with cash prizes and industry mentorship. Previous winners include Max-IR Labs, Advanced Optronics, and Coalesenz.
Researchers developed a full-color near-eye display using stacked holographic gratings, improving brightness and power efficiency. The new design enables lightweight, energy-efficient augmented reality glasses with clear virtual images in bright environments.