Articles tagged with Optics
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 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.
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.
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...
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.
Researchers at TU Wien and University of California San Diego have discovered a new quantum regime of coherent X-ray generation with higher energies, breaking the conventional energy cutoff limit. The effect is attributed to the interaction between two electrons in helium atoms, which release their energy simultaneously.
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.
Researchers develop platform generating complex VOFs with spatially tailored wavefront profiles and polarization distributions, showcasing exceptional capabilities in multifunctional beam shaping and complex wavefront engineering. The platform enables independent control over amplitude, phase, and polarization of radiation fields.
Researchers have introduced topological couplers into coupled resonator optical waveguides, decoupling free spectral range and finesse to alleviate the bandwidth tradeoff. This innovation leads to a significant improvement in bandwidth, enabling applications in wavelength division multiplexing and nonlinear optical processing.
Researchers develop a physics-data co-driven deep neural network that captures underlying physical characteristics of coupled resonant systems using coupled mode theory-generated datasets. This approach enables accurate retrieval of intrinsic resonant frequency, coupling strength, and transmission phase in complex systems.
Researchers developed a compact antenna-in-package wireless module that achieves 144 Gbps data transmission in the 150 GHz sub-terahertz band, paving the way for future 6G devices. The technology uses phased-array transceivers and dual-polarized MIMO to increase communication efficiency and capacity.
A KAIST research team has developed a technology that reconstructs the shape, optical thickness, and position of a transparent object from a single shot. The technique uses an optical model and AI framework to analyze light intensity and overcome challenges in conventional phase imaging.
A new platform enables high-performance single photons with exceptional purity and indistinguishability, key resources for quantum communication, networks & computing. The technology addresses scalability challenges in wafer-scale arrays of deterministic emitters.
Researchers developed a new design strategy to overcome limitations in metasurface-based approaches, creating a response that enables strong, fast modulation across a wider range of colours. This advance provides a pathway for compact, high-speed optical devices with potential applications in faster data transmission and future light-b...
Researchers found that high-power pulses can distribute light evenly across seven cores in a multicore fiber, reducing fluctuations and improving stability. The effect is robust and not affected by disturbances such as bending or twisting, opening new possibilities for efficient and powerful laser systems.
Researchers developed realistic skin-like test models to reproduce a range of skin tones and simulate blood flow, helping device developers identify biases in light-based medical technologies. The models showed improved optical signals detection across different pigmentation levels.
Scientists developed a scalable solution for robust optical frequency transfer in noisy field environments using digital phase recording and multifunctional relay stations. The system achieved stable operation and fractional frequency instability of 2.9 x 10^-21 at 1 Hz over 2067 km fiber network.
Physicists have developed a method to visualize three-dimensional wavefunctions of molecules, enabling the study of molecular interactions. The technique, which uses a table-top soft-X-ray laser and powerful computer algorithms, allows for the imaging of features smaller than atomic scales.
Researchers achieve robust single-mode lasing with a merging bound state in the continuum, reducing radiative loss and improving stability. The design enables ultra-compact devices with minimal device structure, promising high-performance on-chip lasers.
Researchers designed a compact, optically addressed programmable metasurface using VO2-based phase change materials. The device enables pixel-level independent encoding and dynamic generation of THz wavefronts for various applications including zoom meta-lensing, vortex beams, and holography.
Scientists created thresholdless corner vortex solitons that unify topological corner states and vortex light, enabling stable high-speed data transmission. The new solitons resist signal damage and maintain performance across a broad input power window.
Scientists have developed an innovative platform to mechanically control circularly polarized luminescence, a phenomenon essential for next-generation technologies. The team created a supramolecular mechanophore that reversibly switches CPL on and off using force-induced swelling with solvents.
Resonant meta-devices revolutionize imaging and display by achieving ultra-narrowband wavefront shaping and spectral decoupling. They enable multifunctional, high-purity light-field control with applications in AR/VR, LiDAR, quantum photonics, and biosensing.
Pusan National University researchers have successfully developed a hybrid quantum network with indistinguishable quantum sources. The team demonstrated two-photon interference between a warm atomic ensemble and quantum dots, achieving high-visibility two-photon interference without needing spectral or temporal modifications.
A new imaging system links heart structure and electrical activity across the entire organ, revealing how scar tissue interferes with heartbeat. The technology identifies different tissue types based on light interaction and tracks electrical signals in real-time.
The Optica i4 Prize honors individuals and organizations with outstanding achievements in innovation, integrity, inclusion, and impact. This year's recipients are Lumentum President and CEO Michael Hurlston and company TRUMPF, recognized for their contributions to the global optics and photonics industry.
A team of researchers from Chiba University developed a method to monitor laser ablation in real time by detecting tiny push-back forces during laser cutting. By tracking the recoil force, they can sense depth and detect completion in real time, allowing for precise control over the process.
A transient electronic state plays a key role in the formation of a photoinduced hidden state in a metal–organic framework, which can be controlled with light for future applications. The study provides new insights into designing materials with novel optical properties.
Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University developed a practical imaging technique to visualize surface plasmon polaritons, electromagnetic waves traveling along metal surfaces. The method uses quantum dots to create sensitizers that can capture images of the waves under normal laboratory conditions.
A temporally plastic photonic processor enables real-time adaptation in environments with changing inputs. The device achieves high single-pass precision and shows improved accuracy in tasks like matrix inversion and sequential decision-making compared to traditional electronic processors.
Exceptional points in non-linear systems follow a universal geometric order, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. The findings have implications for the design of highly sensitive sensors and could lead to a deeper understanding of non-Hermitian Physics.
The system addresses limitations of high numerical aperture objectives by combining a learned titanium dioxide meta-optic with a neural reconstruction network. This co-designed computational microscopy system improves imaging depth and resolves structures throughout thick biological specimens in a single shot.
Researchers use periodic driving to transform optical lattice into accurate SYK model simulator, reproducing strong quantum chaos and information scrambling. This method opens door to studying complex quantum phenomena in strongly interacting systems.
Researchers at the University of Stuttgart developed an interactively addressable organic metadevice that uses electrically switchable materials to dynamically control light. The platform enables every metasurface pixel to be electronically controlled independently, allowing user commands to be translated into dynamic holographic images.
Hyperuniform disordered (HuD) photonic networks host an unexpected range of optical modes. The study reveals delocalized modes governed by level repulsion, a hallmark of interacting states. Localized modes exhibit Lifshitz-like behavior, with predictable spatial locations and hybridization into coupled modes.
A new approach to tomographic volumetric additive manufacturing (TVAM) has been introduced, achieving 70 times more efficiency than previous techniques by encoding objects as holograms using phase modulation. This allows for bioprinting of structures at near-clinical scale with improved surface quality and self-healing beams.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a device that enables control of electron flow using laser light, potentially leading to advancements in sensing, imaging, and telecommunications. The phenomenon relies on quantum interference, allowing for directional control of electrons.
Researchers introduced an opto-thermoviscous strategy to generate stable 3D helical thermoviscous flows, allowing robust out-of-plane rotation and manipulation of various micro-objects. This method enables multiview 3D microscopy by leveraging kinematic nature of thermoviscous manipulation.
Researchers at Hiroshima University have developed a new way to detect subtle, early-stage changes in human skin collagen using advanced optical imaging and chiroptical spectroscopy. The study reveals that the molecular organization and supramolecular chirality of dermal collagen collapses prior to visible fiber thinning or fragmentation.
Researchers developed a new class of optical storage technology that combines phase-change materials with responsive hydrogels for full-color image multiplexing. The device offers robust rewritability and can be controlled using environmental conditions, enabling user-friendly and secure data encryption.
Researchers developed a novel dual-frequency fiber-array photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) technology, enabling high-resolution imaging of the entire brain and centimeters deep. This innovation overcomes the limitations of conventional PACT systems, allowing for precise functional imaging and metabolism assessment.
Researchers introduce bilayer and multilayer nonlocal flat optics, enabling control of optical modes through interlayer spacing, lateral displacement, and lattice mismatch. This emerging field provides routes to high-Q resonances, slow light, and enhanced nonlinear optical interactions.
Researchers used structured light from quantum optics to transform Boehm's brushes into brighter patterns, improving their detectability. This technique may help diagnose retinal diseases like macular degeneration.
Scientists at CUNY ASRC successfully amplify electromagnetic waves by simulating ultrafast rotation, recreating Penrose-Zel'dovich process. This breakthrough enables experimental studies of extreme rotational dynamics and opens new avenues for wireless communications and optics applications.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a technique that maps chemical changes directly, using natural molecular vibrations. This allows for the observation of biological processes in real-time, giving researchers a more complete picture of how diseases emerge and evolve.
Researchers developed a subarray programmable terahertz metasurface enabling optical logic and high-order amplitude modulation. The device achieves broadband transmission modulation from 170 to 260 GHz and can process information directly at the wavefront.
Scientists developed a device that controls heat radiation direction and switches this effect on and off, enabling 'heat programming' like microchip data. The new material exhibits different responses depending on light direction, improving efficiency compared to previous devices.
Researchers developed an all-soft robotic system utilizing liquid crystal holography for optical command processing, achieving a synergy of multi-degree-of-freedom actuation and information multiplexing. The system showcases an intelligent gripper capable of precise grasping and object classification.
A new study led by Dr. Anthony Lapsansky and Dr. Doug Altshuler found that pigeons make slow, subtle eye movements during flight to gather more information about their surroundings. This research has implications for the development of autonomous flying robots or drones, which can learn from bird-like visual strategies.
Researchers proposed a hybrid frequency-dimension simulator to explore complex lattice models, achieving scalable programmability and operation stability. The simulator's ability to introduce asymmetric couplings enables the simulation of diverse topological phases.
A parallel heterodyne LITES sensor achieves high-speed and high-sensitivity simultaneous detection of multiple trace gases. The sensor's collaborative signal enhancement architecture and deep learning model enable precise mapping of gas concentrations from a single QTF output signal.
The study isolated the effect of dielectric screening on excitonic properties in 2D perovskites. The research team found that changes in organic spacer length lead to a substantial rise in exciton binding energy.
Scientists propose a generalized Smith-Purcell effect based on programmable metasurfaces to redirect electron-induced light into chosen angles. The approach enables active tunability and broadens the range of applications for free-electron radiation, including nanoscale spectroscopy tools and compact light sources.
Researchers developed a dye-sensitized core-shell structure using Yb3+ as an 'energy relay' to achieve synergistic cascade energy transfer between ICG and the Er3+ core under 808 nm excitation. The system enhances luminescence intensity by nearly 2000-fold, providing superior performance for high-resolution imaging in deep tissues.
A new molecule, TP-An, enables highly efficient triplet-triplet annihilation-based photon upconversion, converting low-energy green light to high-energy purple light. The molecule achieves a nearly comparable upconversion performance and works well even at high concentrations.
Researchers at Xidian University have developed a photonic spiking hashing framework that generates stable binary codes for fast similarity retrieval. The approach overcomes challenges in implementing hashing retrieval in physical photonic hardware, achieving reliable performance on image and text retrieval tasks.
The SPIE Prism Awards honor exceptional new products making waves in the photonics industry. Finalists will be announced on November 4, 2026, with winners receiving promotion and recognition at SPIE Photonics West.