Articles tagged with Photonic Crystals
Scientists at Paderborn University have demonstrated the spatial confinement of a light wave to a point smaller than the wavelength in a topological photonic crystal. This finding enables novel unidirectional waveguides that transmit light without back reflection, even with arbitrarily large disorder.
Researchers developed a compact photonic resonator absorption microscope for point-of-care diagnostics, using photonic crystal biosensors to detect proteins or other biomarkers linked to gold nanoparticles. The portable instrument costs $7,000 and has potential applications in detecting various cancers.
Rice materials scientists develop a method to print arbitrary 3D shapes, creating micro-scale electronic, mechanical and photonic devices. The process involves two-photon polymerization and doping with rare earth salts for photoluminescent properties.
Researchers have found exotic topological features in soft matter, a discovery that challenges our understanding of physics. The study reveals that such features are widespread and can be observed in everyday environments, including living organisms.
Researchers at Aalto University have discovered that fibrous red phosphorous, when electrons are confined in its one-dimensional sub-units, shows large optical responses. The material demonstrates giant anisotropic linear and non-linear optical responses, as well as emission intensity.
Scientists have discovered a method to manipulate the electromagnetic mass of electrons in photonic crystals, leading to changes in the ionization energy of atoms. This effect can be used to synthesize new compounds and create drugs, with potential applications in chemistry and medicine.
Researchers at Tufts University created light-activated composite devices that execute precise movements and form complex shapes without wires or energy. The technology enables self-aligning solar cells, soft robots and other smart systems responsive to illumination.
Researchers at Columbia University have developed a platform to control layered crystals using light, producing imaging capabilities beyond common limits. The discovery provides insights for optical quantum information processing and aims to solve difficult problems in computing and communications.
Researchers at KAUST developed a high-precision 3D printing process to fabricate photonic crystal fibers with unprecedented ease and precision. This allows for the creation of small-scale optical devices capable of using photons for high-speed information processing, featuring tight space confinement of light.
Researchers quantify topological protection in photonic edge states using a valley photonic crystal, measuring negligible radiative losses and significant loss in standard waveguides. The study provides insights into the robustness of topologically non-trivial states.
Scientists have developed a natural potassium-tantalate-niobate (KTN) perovskite nonlinear photonic crystal with 3D spontaneous Rubik's domain structures, enabling compensation of phase-mismatch along arbitrary directions. This breakthrough paves the way for new applications in optical communications, quantum entanglement sources, and ...
Researchers from Kyoto University have created a beam-scanning device using photonic crystals, eliminating the need for moving parts. The technology enables high-power, high-beam-quality two-dimensional beam scanning lasers with improved resolution and accuracy.
A team of scientists demonstrates a low-threshold topological nanolaser in a 2D topological photonic crystal nanocavity, achieving high performance comparable to conventional semiconductor lasers. The design features a second-order corner state that provides robustness against defects and enhances light-matter interaction.
Researchers have discovered a material that emits light in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum when heated, defying Planck's Law. This 'super-Planckian' radiation is generated by a three-dimensional tungsten photonic crystal and has potential applications in energy harvesting, military tracking, and optical physics.
Researchers at the University of Münster have created an interface that couples light sources with nanophotonic networks, enabling the integration of quantum optical circuits on chips. The interface uses photonic crystals to enhance a specific wavelength range and can be replicated using established nanofabrication processes.
A research group led by Associate Professor Joel Yang from Singapore University of Technology and Design printed a miniature Eiffel Tower with multiple colors due to interacting nanostructures. The
Researchers create strain-accommodating smart skin that changes color in response to heat and sunlight, mimicking chameleon skin. The new material uses arrays of photonic crystals embedded in hydrogels to achieve color changes without buckling.
Researchers at Emory University have created a flexible smart skin that changes color in response to heat and sunlight without altering its size. This innovation uses photonic crystals to mimic the chameleon's natural ability, opening doors for applications in camouflage, chemical sensing, and anti-counterfeiting.
Scientists have developed a new strategy for constructing photonic heterostructure crystals with tunable properties, which can absorb and transmit photons. These crystals, in the form of striped rods, exhibit unique fluorescence behavior and serve as a prototype for a logic gate.
Researchers developed a new device to measure and control an optically trapped nanoparticle's motion with subatomic resolution. The device uses a light-guiding nanoscale device to monitor the particle's position with unprecedented sensitivity.
Researchers at Duke University have demonstrated a photonic crystal waveguide that directs photons of light around sharp corners with virtually no losses due to backscattering. This breakthrough enables the development of efficient light-based computing systems, which could replace electronic devices and save energy.
Researchers developed a novel microscopy technique to analyze cellular focal adhesions, providing real-time information on dynamic processes. This breakthrough enables better understanding of cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration, which can aid cancer treatment and tissue engineering applications.
Researchers used fossilized algae to develop a sensitive method for detecting harmful contaminants in food, reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses. The new technique utilizes photonic crystal features to amplify optical detection signals, enabling rapid identification of toxins like histamine in fish and meat.
Researchers at the University of Maryland created a photonic chip that generates single photons and steers them around bends in the road. The device mitigates issues by rethinking crystal hole shapes and patterns, ensuring reliable transit for individual photons.
Researchers have successfully observed the inner structure of photonic crystals, a key material for controlling light beams, using ptychography. This breakthrough enables the creation of microprocessors for optical computers without destroying the crystal.
Researchers at Michigan Technological University have discovered that the shape and repetitive organization of building blocks within metamaterials affect refraction, contradicting previous assumptions. This finding has significant implications for the development of devices such as invisibility cloaks and perfect lenses.
Researchers at ICFO and MPL create a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber system producing single-cycle IR pulses at an unprecedented repetition rate of 160 kHz. This enables applications such as real-time electron motions observation in single molecules, opening a window to watching subatomic processes during chemical reactions.
Researchers employed high-resolution microscopy techniques to study the formation mechanism of butterfly wing scales. The green butterfly features separated photonic crystal domains that increase in size from base to tip, suggesting time-frozen growth stages.
Researchers at NTT Corporation have combined a sub-wavelength nanowire with a photonic crystal platform to demonstrate two key firsts: Continuous-wave lasing oscillation by sub-wavelength nanowire, as well as high-speed signal modulation by a nanowire laser. This breakthrough overcomes material incompatibility issues and enables the de...
Physicists from MIPT predicted transparent composite media with unusual optical properties using graphics card-based simulations. These structures can exhibit birefringence, a phenomenon where light splits into two beams inside the medium.
Researchers have developed a new method for analyzing photonic crystal structure, which provides a direct view of the inner details. The technique uses scattered light patterns to reveal the iso-frequency contours, offering a beautiful and straightforward way to observe the material's properties.
Physicists visualize butterfly wings' internal nanostructure using x-rays and microscopy, discovering highly oriented photonic crystals. Tiny crystal irregularities enhance light-scattering properties, making wings appear brighter.
Scientists have developed a new method to assemble technologically relevant, non-polymorphic crystals through computer simulations. By tuning the size of polymer additives, researchers can stabilize desired crystal structures against competing polymorphs.
Griffith University researchers have discovered a thousand-fold fluorescence enhancement in an all-polymer thin film due to a novel multi-layer Colloidal Photonic Crystal (CPhC) structure. This breakthrough has significant implications for ultra-sensitive sensing, energy efficiency and lighting devices.
Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München have developed a novel photonic crystal that changes color in response to moisture, enabling humidity-sensitive contactless control. The nanosheet-based material displays unparalleled sensitivity and response time, making it ideal for next-generation touchless navigation systems.
Researchers at University of Illinois developed a method to extract more efficient polarized light from quantum dots, enhancing mobile phone, tablet, and computer displays, as well as LED lighting. This technology could lead to brighter, less expensive, and more efficient displays with reduced energy consumption.
Researchers find Weyl points, predicted by Hermann Weyl in 1929, in photonic crystals, opening a new area of photonics. The discovery paves the way for new photonic phenomena and applications, including angularly selective materials and powerful single-frequency lasers.
A team of physicists has confirmed the detection of Weyl points, a kind of massless particle predicted by physicist Hermann Weyl in 1929. The finding was made possible by a novel use of a photonic crystal material, which could lead to new kinds of high-power single-mode lasers and other optical devices.
A Sandia-led team has created a tunable plasmonic crystal that can transmit terahertz light at varying frequencies, increasing bandwidth in high-speed communication networks. The crystal's ability to direct light like a photonic crystal, combined with its sub-wavelength size, hybridizes the two concepts.
Researchers at MIT have discovered a new platform that enables dramatic manipulation of organic molecules' emission by suspending them on top of a carefully designed planar slab with a periodic array of holes. This platform has important implications for applications such as bio-imaging, bio-molecular detection and the development of o...
Researchers at University of Illinois developed a cradle that uses iPhone's built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules. The device can perform on-the-spot tests for environmental toxins, medical diagnostics and food safety.
Researchers created a device that tames the flow of photons using synthetic magnetism, breaking the time-reversal symmetry of light. This innovation enables precise control over photon trajectories, opening up novel ways to manipulate light for various applications.
Researchers mapped how light behaves in complex photonic materials, breaking the limit of light resolution at the nanoscale. They developed a new technique combining electronic excitation and optical detection to explore the inside of a photonic crystal, revealing new insights into light-matter interactions.
Researchers have developed a new laser design that shrinks on-chip lasers to 2 micrometers in height, significantly reducing size and increasing performance. This breakthrough could enable faster data transfer rates and more efficient energy use in high-speed computers.
The team developed a method to fabricate 3D photonic crystals that are both electronically and optically active, opening new avenues for solar cells, lasers, and metamaterials. The discovery uses epitaxial growth of single-crystal semiconductor through a complex template.
Researchers have successfully fabricated a hybrid system using nano-diamonds and photonic crystals, paving the way for multi-qubit systems on a single chip. This achievement brings the dream of a quantum computer closer to reality, with potential applications in various fields of science and engineering.
Materials with 7-fold rotation symmetry have not yet been observed in nature, but researchers have discovered the reason why. The density of flower-shaped nuclei plays a crucial role in determining the rotation symmetry of colloidal particles, explaining why materials with certain symmetries are rare in nature.
A team of researchers has successfully generated two resonant dispersive waves on both sides of the emitting soliton, a major breakthrough in supercontinuum generation. The unique fiber design allows for efficient and compact femtosecond lasers, opening up new applications in frequency combs.
Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed disposable, microplate-based optical biosensors using photonic crystals to detect protein-DNA interactions. The technology can identify compounds that inhibit specific protein-nucleic acid and protein-protein interactions.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated an approximate cloaking effect using concentric rings of silicon photonic crystals. The technique could potentially create a practical solution for optical cloaking by bending light around objects, making them invisible.
University of Utah chemists have discovered the ideal photonic crystal structure, dubbed the "champion" crystal, in the shimmering green scales of a Brazilian weevil beetle. The scale material has a diamond-like structure that can manipulate light efficiently, but its chitin composition makes it unsuitable for long-term use.
A team of researchers from Ames Laboratory has developed a novel add-drop filter using three-dimensional photonic crystals, which enables efficient sorting and distribution of multiple wavelength channels over optical fibers. The technology promises to enhance data transmission with near 100% efficiency.
Researchers from IBM, Kyoto University, Northwestern, and the University of New Mexico have achieved significant breakthroughs in silicon nanophotonics. The longest photon lifetime of 2.1 ns was observed in a photonic crystal nanocavity, while advanced microresonators with quality factors over 100 million were demonstrated.
Researchers are developing three-dimensional photonic crystals that can reflect single colors of light, enabling compact optical semiconductor components. This technology has the potential to replace electrical signals with light-based transmission, leading to faster and more efficient data transfer in telecommunications.
Researchers at the University of Bath have discovered a new method for manipulating light, using a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre that reduces power consumption by a million times. This breakthrough could enable more accurate measurements of subatomic particles and potentially revolutionize attotechnology.
By placing quantum dots on a specially designed photonic crystal, researchers enhanced fluorescence intensity by up to 108 times. This breakthrough could lead to high-brightness light-emitting diodes, optical switches and biosensors for detecting DNA and other biomolecules.
Scientists have developed a new type of flexible plastic film that combines natural and manmade optical effects, producing a color-changing effect that depends less on viewing angle. The films are made from arrays of spheres stacked in three dimensions, which scatter light and produce intensely colored colors.
Georgia Tech researchers develop wavelength-demultipler (WD) that can separate high-resolution wavelengths in tight confines, solving problems with combining delicate optical functions. The WD is integrated into a microchip for signal processing, communications, or sensing applications.
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed pressable photonic crystals that capture data-rich fingerprints in multiple colours, offering improved security. The technology can also be used for sensors in various industries, such as air-bag release mechanisms and strain torque sensors.
Photonic crystals provide ideal characteristics for the development of instruments with diverse applications. A multidisciplinary research effort at the University of Navarra has led to significant breakthroughs in manufacturing these crystals, paving the way for miniaturization and enhanced nanotechnology.