Add BrightSurf on Google Email

Twisted nanoparticles sorted by light

Researchers at Tokyo University of Science demonstrated a method for manipulating metallic chiral nanoparticles using circularly polarized light. By confining light to an evanescent field near the surface of ultra-thin optical fibers, they selectively transported left- and right-handed particles based on their chirality.

SourceTokyo University of Science·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 24, 2026

Designable vectorial lasing via quasi-BIC Möbius loop

Researchers developed a novel design paradigm for vectorial microlasers with designable topological charges using quasi-BIC Möbius-like correspondence in photonic-crystal slabs. This approach allows for programmable structured-light sources for integrated photonic circuits and multi-dimensional optical information encoding.

Artificial intelligence-generated photonics: map optical properties to subwavelength structures directly via a diffusion model

A team of scientists developed an AI-generated photonic (AIGP) framework that directly maps optical properties to subwavelength photonic structures using a latent diffusion model. The system achieves high-precision mapping, supports flexible design constraints, and possesses fuzzy search capability.

Ultra-thin optical film sharpens 3D printing precision

A new ultra-thin optical film improves the quality of light used in LCD resin-based 3D printers, ensuring precise details and reducing printing errors. The film's design enhances collimation and uniformity, paving the way for affordable industrial or medical-grade products.

SourceOptica·JournalOptical Materials Express·DateApr 23, 2026

A step toward 7D pathology: Metasurface polarimetry enables next-generation tissue diagnostics

Researchers developed a compact metasurface polarimeter for cancer tissue analysis, offering label-free imaging with reduced variability. The device's miniaturization opens the door to portable polarization-based confocal microscopy for routine histopathology screening.

Record-breaking ultra-deep nanohole waveguides via femtosecond laser

Researchers have developed a novel approach to fabricate high-performance nanophotonic devices with record-breaking ultra-deep nanohole waveguides. The technique enables the creation of nanostructures with extreme depth-to-diameter ratios, overcoming long-standing limitations in single-pulse nanolithography.

Compact and programmable large-scale optical processor in free space

Scientists have demonstrated a reconfigurable photonic circuit implementing wide class of complex unitary transformations via optical manipulation at three layers only. The platform enables flexible access to many co-propagating structured modes, making it suitable for applications in communication, information processing, and simulation.

Continuous-wave-pumped bichromatic dissipative quadratic soliton femtosecond mode-locking

A new approach to ultrafast nonlinear frequency conversion using dissipative quadratic soliton physics enables simultaneous generation of bichromatic femtosecond pulse trains in a single quadratic nonlinear cavity. This innovation offers a scalable and efficient solution for diverse scientific and technological applications.

A quantum-in-memory stochastic processor for secure and accelerated computing

Researchers have developed a quantum-enhanced in-memory stochastic computing system based on a room-temperature quantum memory, leveraging intrinsic randomness to perform computations securely and efficiently. The system outperforms classical methods in terms of coincidence rates and processing speed.

SKKU Demonstrates Roll-to-roll manufacturing marks a major step toward commercialization of flat optics

Researchers at SKKU have successfully demonstrated the mass production of large-area visible metalenses using a fully automated roll-to-roll manufacturing platform. The platform achieves a record-high throughput of 300 metalenses per second, paving the way for the commercialization of flat optics.

Perovskite nanocrystals in glass for high-efficiency and ultra-high resolution dynamic displays

Researchers develop fluoride-engineered perovskite nanocrystal glass for high-efficiency, full-color emission and ultra-high-resolution holographic displays. The glass matrix enables stable and efficient photoluminescence of PNCs, driving the creation of high-quality dynamic displays.

SourceEditorial Office of Opto-Electronic Journals Group·JournalOpto-Electronic Advances·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 15, 2026

A quantum-in-memory stochastic processor for secure and accelerated computing

Researchers developed a quantum-enhanced in-memory stochastic computing system for secure and efficient computation, leveraging room-temperature quantum memory. The system outperforms classical methods with improved coincidence rates and processing speed despite low retrieval efficiency.

Optical control of nuclear spins in molecules points to new paths for quantum technologies

Researchers have successfully initialized and detected nuclear spin states in a europium-based molecular crystal using laser light, achieving nuclear spin quantum coherence with a lifetime of up to two milliseconds. This breakthrough paves the way for scalable quantum computers and atomically precise qubit registers.

SourceKarlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)·JournalNature Materials·DateApr 8, 2026

Single-view neural illumination estimation and editing for dynamic light field display

A novel neural illumination estimation and editing framework reconstructs coherent 3D light fields from a single view, achieving 17.0% improvement in image fidelity and demonstrating measurable improvements in perceptual realism for next-generation near-eye displays.

Plasmonic nanocavities enable detection of layer-breathing vibrations in 2D materials and heterostructures

Scientists have developed a universal nano-amplifier strategy using plasmonic gold or silver nanocavities to overcome detection barriers in 2D materials. This breakthrough allows for the clear detection of layer-breathing modes in multilayer graphene, hBN, and their heterostructures.

Experimental evidence shows how photons spread across multiple paths in an interferometer

Researchers at Hiroshima University have developed a new experimental method to demonstrate the physical delocalization of individual photons in an interferometer. The study challenges traditional interpretations of quantum mechanics and has significant implications for high-tech sensors and our understanding of reality.

SourceHiroshima University·JournalNew Journal of Physics·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 26, 2026

Is darkness faster than light?

Technion researchers confirm 50-year-old prediction by measuring the speed of 'dark points' within light waves. The team's achievement reveals universal laws of nature shared by all types of waves, enabling new microscopy techniques to study hidden processes in physics, chemistry, and biology.

SourceTechnion-Israel Institute of Technology·JournalNature·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 26, 2026

Preserving polarization while boosting light from atomically thin semiconductors with silicon nanospheres

Researchers have demonstrated that silicon nanospheres can enhance second-harmonic generation in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides while preserving valley-polarization information. The study provides design guidelines for efficient, polarization-preserving nonlinear light sources at the nanoscale.

SourceNational Institutes of Natural Sciences·JournalNano Letters·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 25, 2026

Topology helps build more robust photonic networks

Researchers have shown that topology can guide multiple, information-carrying light signals through chip-based photonic communication systems, making them more powerful and reliable. This breakthrough could enable the creation of networks of chips that communicate using light while taking advantage of topology's robustness.

SourceUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science·JournalNature Physics·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 19, 2026

Flexible, stretchable, on-chip optical tweezers

Researchers developed flexible, stretchable on-chip optical tweezers (FSOT) that can trap a wide range of bioparticles across different size scales. The innovation enables high-throughput trapping beyond the diffraction limit, conformal operation on curved biological surfaces, and tunable inter-cellular interaction studies.

Anti-interference diffractive deep neural networks for multi-object recognition

A recent paper introduces a novel optical neural network architecture that can accurately recognize target objects in the presence of multiple interferences. The system achieves high recognition accuracy across diverse scenarios, including complex settings with dynamic interferences.

Fourier ptychographic coherence scanning interferometry for 3D morphology of high asp02ect ratio and composite micro-trenches

A new technique harnessing Fourier ptychographic microscopy and coherence scanning interferometry provides accurate 3D morphology measurements of high-aspect-ratio micro-trenches. The method achieves high lateral resolution without iterative phase retrieval, enabling robust characterization of complex structures.

120 km time-bin QKD using a telecom quantum dot single-photon source

A team of international researchers successfully demonstrates time-bin QKD over 120 km with an on-demand telecom semiconductor QD device. The system achieves exceptional stability and maintains high security key rates, making it suitable for real-world text message encryption applications.

Induced fit growth of Ga-based semiconductor thin films for brain-inspired electronics and optoelectronics

Researchers develop an induced fit growth method for Ga-based semiconductor films, enabling controlled thickness and compact surface. The method promises versatile, multifunctional substrates for diverse applications, including optoelectronic devices and neuromorphic computing.

IEEE researchers achieve 20x signal boost in cerebral blood flow monitoring with next-generation interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy

Researchers optimize interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy technique to boost weak optical field returning from the brain, achieving over 20x signal to noise ratio. The novel approach provides higher brain sensitivity compared to DCS-inspired approaches and is approximately two orders of magnitude less expensive.

SourceInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers·JournalIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 11, 2026

Fourier ptychographic coherence scanning interferometry for 3D morphology of high aspect ratio and composite micro-trenches

Researchers develop Fourier ptychographic coherence scanning interferometry for high-aspect-ratio micro-trenches, achieving high-resolution 3D topography and lateral resolution beyond the incoherent diffraction limit. The method overcomes challenges of strong optical modulation, enabling robust and accurate measurements.

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...

IEEE researchers achieve low-power ultrashort mid-IR pulse compression

A team of researchers from SASTRA Deemed University demonstrates a fiber-based method for compressing mid-infrared laser pulses into ultrashort, low-noise bursts efficiently. The system reduces input power from kilowatts to 80 watts, improving energy efficiency and thermal stability.

SourceInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers·JournalIEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateMar 11, 2026

Break-through amplified spontaneous emission with ultra-low threshold in perovskite via synergetic moisture and BHT dual strategies

This work demonstrates a synergistic strategy utilizing water molecules and BHT additive to achieve high-quality perovskite films with low defect density, resulting in an unprecedented amplified spontaneous emission threshold of 8.987 μJ cm-2. The dual-triggered film completes ASE intensity retention after 30-day ambient storage.

Exploring the feedback limits of quantum dot lasers for isolator-free photonic integrated circuits

Researchers have directly observed coherence collapse in quantum dot Fabry–Perot lasers, establishing practical design rules for isolator-free photonic integration. The lasers maintain telecom-grade performance even near the coherence collapse boundary.

Experimental observation of topological Dirac vortex mode in terahertz photonic crystal fibers

Researchers have successfully observed and verified a topological Dirac vortex mode in terahertz photonic crystal fibers, enabling ultra-broadband signal transmission with zero polarization dispersion. This breakthrough has promising applications in terahertz sensing, subwavelength-resolution imaging, and distributed quantum networks.

Monolithic III-V membrane photonic crystal lasers on soi using selective lateral heteroepitaxy

Researchers have developed monolithically integrated III-V membrane photonic crystal lasers on SOI using selective lateral heteroepitaxy, achieving low-threshold single-mode lasing in the telecom band. This approach enables precise control of the active region and simplified fabrication, facilitating efficient and low-cost production.

Frequency-comb spectrum-correlation reflectometry

The proposed OFC-SCR technique enables parallel multi-frequency interrogation, improving measurement speed by over an order of magnitude. It also achieves high frequency response, wide dynamic measurement range, high sensing sensitivity, and excellent robustness, pushing the performance boundaries of distributed fiber-optic acoustic se...

New label-free microscope for exploring the nano-world inside live cells

Researchers develop interferometric Image Scanning Microscopy (iISM) technique to deliver high-resolution imaging of intracellular structures in live cells without fluorescent labels. The method improves contrast-to-noise ratio and enables faster acquisition speeds, opening new opportunities for studying nanoscale cellular dynamics.