Researchers have discovered how to make a new optical metamaterial that would underpin a variety of new technologies.
Tag: OPTICS
Next-generation printing: precise and direct, using optical vortices
Will printed photographs ever match the precision of a mirror’s reflection? Even though the answer may still be no for a while, Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have made significant strides in precision printing with their innovative optical vortex laser-based technique that allows for the precise placement of minuscule droplets with micrometer-scale accuracy.
Revolutionizing color technology and solar energy
Case Western Reserve physics professor Giuseppe Strangi is leading a research group developing new optical coatings, which are as thin as a few atomic layers. They can simultaneously transmit and reflect narrow-banded light with unparalleled vividness and purity of the colors.
2023 grad Ella James to continue physics studies at UAH with National Defense and Science and Engineering Fellowship
Ella James, who received a Bachelor of Science in physics from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in spring 2023, has been awarded a National Defense and Science and Engineering (NDSEG) Fellowship, which she will use for graduate studies at UAH, a part of the University of Alabama System. “It’s three years of tuition for graduate school,” James says.
Xiaodong Xu: Then and Now / 2012 Early Career Award Winner
University of Washington professor Xiaodong Xu studies the properties of single atomic layer semiconductors, looking for new materials and new ways to control electrical conductivity.
Transferring Data with Many Colors of Light Simultaneously
The Lightwave Research Lab has developed a fast and extremely efficient method for transferring huge amounts of data. The technique uses dozens of frequencies of light to transfer several streams of information over a fiber optic cable simultaneously.
Polarized X-rays reveal shape, orientation of extremely hot matter around black hole
Researchers’ recent observations of a stellar-mass black hole called Cygnus X-1 reveal new details about the configuration of extremely hot matter in the region immediately surrounding the black hole. Matter is heated to millions of degrees as it is pulled toward a black hole. This hot matter glows in X-rays. Researchers are using measurements of the polarization of these X-rays to test and refine models that describe how black holes swallow matter, becoming some of the most luminous sources of light — including X-rays — in the universe.
The futuristic South Pole Telescope looks far back in time
Designed to detect the oldest light in the universe, the South Pole Telescope is helping researchers at Argonne and around the world to learn about the beginnings of the universe.
Thin-film Photovoltaic Technology Combines Efficiency and Versatility
Stacking solar cells increases their efficiency. Working with partners in the EU-funded PERCISTAND project, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced perovskite/CIS tandem solar cells with an efficiency of nearly 25 percent – the highest value achieved thus far with this technology. Moreover, this combination of materials is light and versatile, making it possible to envision the use of these tandem solar cells in vehicles, portable equipment, and devices that can be folded or rolled up. The researchers present their results in the journal ACS Energy Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c00707)
Argonne employee group funds service dog for Chicago area veteran
A U.S. Army veteran living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was presented with an Australian shepherd service dog on Sept. 25, the result of roughly five years of fundraising by an employee group at Argonne National Laboratory.
Will this be the face of 7G?
Moving from the GHz regime into the THz regime…
Tweezers of sound can pick objects up without physical contact
Hemispherical array of ultrasound transducers lifts objects off reflective surfaces
Cascaded metasurfaces for dynamic control of THz wavefronts
Dynamic control of THz wavefronts demonstrated by rotating layers of cascaded metasurfaces
Doctoral student bridges gap between electronics and optics
New chip can revolutionize the current data rate for processors using microwave photonics
Experts in optical communications and photodetection headline OSA Advanced Photonics Congress
WASHINGTON – The latest developments in integrated photonics and their applications will be discussed at the virtual 2021 OSA Advanced Photonics Congress 26 – 30 July. The event, comprised of five topical meetings, will feature presentations on photonic device research…
CUNY ASRC Professor Andrea Alù named a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate
Alù will receive the world’s largest unrestricted prize for early career scientists for his work in physical sciences and engineering
Synthesis of new red phosphors with a smart material as a host material
The valence of Mn changes from 4 to 3 under various conditions
Noninvasive, label-free optical method visualizes deep, cellular brain disease in vivo
Central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) manifest early at the microscopic (i.e. cellular) level, deep in the brain. Yet, optical microscopes that can see cells in the living brain are superficial or invasive. Whole brain imaging…
Non-genetic photoacoustic stimulation of single neurons by a tapered fiber optoacoustic emitter
Neuromodulation at high spatial resolution has been an invaluable approach for treating neurological diseases and advancing fundamental knowledge in the field of neuroscience, as firing of a small population or even single neurons can specifically alter animal behavior or brain…
Watching the ultrafast dance moves of a laser plasma
Great leaps in science and technology have been propelled by recent advances in seeing fast evolving physical phenomena, as they happen. Femtosecond lasers from the infrared to the X-ray region have enabled us to ‘watch’, in real time, atoms dance…
Simplified method for calibrating optical tweezers
Broadband measurement of viscoelasticity with reduced measurement time
NGA funds RIT researchers to explore the limits of spectral remote sensing imaging systems
Principal investigator Professor John Kerekes receives up to $1 million for fundamental research
ISSRDC to feature in-space production applications and its impact on the space economy
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), July 14, 2021 – The International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) will host multiple sessions focused on in-space production applications during its 10th annual gathering, taking place August 3-5. This year’s event, which will…
Electrons in quantum liquid gain energy from laser pulses
The absorption of energy from laser light by free electrons in a liquid has been demonstrated for the first time. Until now, this process was observed only in the gas phase. The findings, led by Graz University of Technology, open…
‘Hydrogel-based flexible brain-machine interface’
The interface is easy to insert into the body when dry, but behaves ‘stealthily’ inside the brain when wet
5D imaging of ultrafast phenomena
Spectral-volumetric compressed ultrafast photography simultaneously captures 5D information in a single snapshot
New electronic paper displays brilliant colours
Imagine sitting out in the sun, reading a digital screen as thin as paper, but seeing the same image quality as if you were indoors. Thanks to research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, it could soon be a reality.…
Crystal clear: Lepidopterans have many ways of being transparent
Butterflies and moths have beautiful wings: the bright flare of an orange monarch, the vivid stripes of a swallowtail, the luminous green of a Luna moth. But some butterflies flutter on even more dramatic wings: parts of their wing, or…
Harnessing the dark side
Optical singularities could be used for a wide range of applications from super resolution imaging to optical trapping
Demonstration of World Record: 319 Tb/s Transmission over 3,001 km with 4-core fiber
>120 nm signal bandwidth comprising 552 WDM channels and using both-doped fiber and Raman amplification
To predict underwater volcano eruptions, scientist looks at images from space
A new study monitored satellite images to obtain sea discoloration data as a novel indicator in detecting if an underwater volcano’s eruption is imminent.
Dual-window approach offers unprecedented view of brain dynamics
Combining technologies allows simultaneous imaging close to the surface and deep within the brain in living mice
Tiny tweaks to sparkle: Editing light-emitting organic molecules via surface modification
Researchers develop a strategy that allows a single family of polymeric materials to emit light in any of the three primary colors
A new look at color displays
Tunable structural color images by UV-patterned conducting polymer nanofilms on metal surfaces
Beam steering angle expander with two liquid crystal polymeric diffractive optical elements
Flat optics based on patterned liquid crystals (LCs) has recently received extensive research interest. Comparing with dielectric metasurfaces which are usually fabricated by sophisticated lithography process, LC polymer-based planar optics, owing to the self-assembly properties, can be fabricated through all-solution…
New algorithms give digital images more realistic color
Method could help improve color for electronic displays and create more natural LED lighting
Scalable manufacturing of integrated optical frequency combs
Optical frequency combs consist of light frequencies made of equidistant laser lines. They have already revolutionized the fields of frequency metrology, timing and spectroscopy. The discovery of ”soliton microcombs” by Professor Tobias Kippenberg’s lab at EPFL in the past decade…
Scientists achieve ultra-fast optical orbiting of nanoparticles at subdiffraction scale
Is it possible to drive nanoparticles to orbit below the light diffraction limit using a Gaussian beam? A recent joint research project reported in Nature Communications says yes. It is well known that light possesses not only energy but also…
A biological blueprint for tough color
The unique mechanical and optical properties found in the exoskeleton of a humble Asian beetle has the potential to offer a fascinating new insight into how to develop new, effective bio-inspired technologies. Pioneering new research by a team of international…
Cooling LIGO’s mirrors to near quantum ground state
Using LIGO’s suspended mirrors, researchers have demonstrated the ability to cool a large-scale object – the 10-kilogram optomechanical oscillator the suspended mirrors form – to nearly the motional quantum ground state. Upgrading LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) with such a…
First Report of Dorsal Navigation in a Flying Insect
People–who get lost easily in the extraordinary darkness of a tropical forest–have much to learn from a bee that can find its way home in conditions 10 times dimmer than starlight. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s (STRI) research…
Bending Light for Safer Driving; Invisibility Cloaks to Come?
Optical cloaking allows objects to be hidden in plain sight by guiding light around anything placed inside the cloak. While cloaking has been popularized in fiction, researchers in recent years have started realizing cloaks that shield objects from view by controlling the flow of electromagnetic radiation around them. In Journal of Applied Physics, researchers examined recent progress of developing invisibility cloaks that function in natural incoherent light and can be realized using standard optical components.
Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists announces the finalists of 2021
The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences today named 31 Finalists for the world’s largest unrestricted prize honoring early-career scientists and engineers
Novel calibration procedure for super-resolution brain imaging
A simple and robust procedure corrects a systematic error in microscopy, enabling precise imaging of biological tissue at greater depth
Microscopic CCTV reveals secrets of malaria invasion
State-of-the-art video microscopy has enabled researchers at WEHI, Australia, to see the molecular details of how malaria parasites invade red blood cells – a key step in the disease. The researchers used a custom-built lattice light sheet microscope – the…
Seeking a faster pathway to synthetic data
Helmholtz Association funds project for data acquisition using neural networks
Infrared imaging by ultrathin nanocrystal layers
Researchers demonstrate the conversion of infrared images to the visible, using ultrathin and transparent semiconductor nanocrystals
OFC 2021 concludes as global leaders reveal trends shaping optical fiber communications
800G, 400G, co-packaged optics, data center technology, machine learning and silicon photonics focus of discussion and debate
Researchers 3D print rotating microfilter for lab-on-a-chip applications
With filter modes that can be switched via a magnetic field, device shows promise for cell sorting
PCF-based ‘parallel reactors’ unveils collective matter-light analogies of soliton molecules
Optical solitons are nonlinear optical wave-packets that can maintain their profile during the propagation even in the presence of moderate perturbations, offering useful applications in optical communications, all-optical information processing as well as ultrafast laser techniques. The interaction between optical…