/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Molding the flow of light—whether confined to localized regions or propagating in free space—remains crucial for modern integrated photonics. The advancement of the multi-channel, programmable optical waveguide and coupler arrays has enabled us to develop photonic integrated circuits (PICs) as a viable alternative to electronic ones, overcoming limitations in processing speed, bandwidth, and efficiency across the optical-to-microwave spectrum. /news/2025-05-topological-polycrystal-approach-configurable-multiband.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Thu, 08 May 2025 11:20:01 EDT news665914846 Researchers have long recognized that quantum communication systems would transmit quantum information more faithfully and be impervious to certain forms of error if nonlinear optical processes were used. However, past efforts at incorporating such processes could not operate with the extremely low light levels required for quantum communication. /news/2025-04-nanophotonic-platform-boosts-efficiency-nonlinear.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 24 Apr 2025 08:13:04 EDT news664701181 Â鶹ÒùÔºicists at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a compact laser that emits extremely bright, short pulses of light in a useful but difficult-to-achieve wavelength range, packing the performance of larger photonic devices onto a single chip. /news/2025-04-physicists-compact-mid-infrared-pulse.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:00:11 EDT news663936961 A study from Technion unveils a newly discovered form of quantum entanglement in the total angular momentum of photons confined in nanoscale structures. This discovery could play a key role in the future miniaturization of quantum communication and computing components. /news/2025-04-quantum-entanglement.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 11 Apr 2025 08:43:04 EDT news663579781 Interferometers, devices that can modulate aspects of light, play the important role of modulating and switching light signals in fiber-optic communications networks and are frequently used for gas sensing and optical computing. /news/2025-03-cascaded-mode-interferometer-waveguides-fiber.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 25 Mar 2025 10:58:03 EDT news662119081 Researchers at TU Delft and Brown University have developed scalable nanotechnology-based lightsails that could support future advances in space exploration and experimental physics. Their research, published in Nature Communications, introduces new materials and production methods to create the thinnest large-scale reflectors ever made. /news/2025-03-scalable-nanotechnology-based-lightsails-generation.html Space Exploration Mon, 24 Mar 2025 14:27:03 EDT news662045221 Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have made a discovery that could pave the way for a transformative era in photonic technology. For decades, scientists have theorized the possibility of manipulating the optical properties of light by adding a new dimension—time. This once-elusive concept has now become a reality thanks to nanophotonics experts from the School of Engineering and Â鶹ÒùÔºical Sciences in Edinburgh, Scotland. /news/2025-03-scientists-dimension-ushering-era-photonic.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Mar 2025 18:00:01 EDT news661434749 From punch card-operated looms in the 1800s to modern cellphones, if an object has an "on" and an "off" state, it can be used to store information. /news/2025-02-quantum-advancement-crystal-gaps-terabyte.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:00:46 EST news658771225 Data security on the internet is under threat: in the future, quantum computers could decode even encrypted files sent over the internet in no time. Researchers worldwide are, therefore, experimenting with quantum networks that will enable a paradigm shift in the future when globally connected to form the quantum internet. /news/2025-02-exploiting-photon-high-quantum-internet.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 11 Feb 2025 14:10:18 EST news658505402 Collaboration can be a beautiful thing, especially when people work together to create something new. Take, for example, a longstanding collaboration between Arka Majumdar, a University of Washington (UW) professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics, and Felix Heide, an assistant professor of computer science at Princeton University. /news/2025-02-compact-camera.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 05 Feb 2025 10:33:35 EST news657974006 Interactions between atoms and light rule the behavior of our physical world, but at the same time, can be extremely complex. Understanding and harnessing them is one of the major challenges for the development of quantum technologies. /news/2025-01-harnessing-atom-interactions-stable-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:00:28 EST news657216021 Microscale light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) are emerging as a next-generation display technology for optical communications, augmented and virtual reality, and wearable devices. Metal-halide perovskites show great potential for efficient light emission, long-range carrier transport, and scalable manufacturing, making them potentially ideal candidates for bright LED displays. /news/2025-01-perovskite-growth-method-ultrahigh-resolution.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 21 Jan 2025 14:46:03 EST news656693161 Monitoring electrical signals in biological systems helps scientists understand how cells communicate, which can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions like arrhythmia and Alzheimer's. /news/2024-12-wireless-antennas-harness-decode-cellular.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 20 Dec 2024 14:00:01 EST news653907601 Researchers have developed a tiny, room-temperature device that creates a special type of structured light called radially polarized photons, which are highly useful for secure communication, advanced imaging, and precision optical tools. /news/2024-12-room-temperature-nanodevice-generates-communication.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 10 Dec 2024 09:35:11 EST news653045699 Skyrmions, recognized for their intricate spin configurations, have captivated researchers as topological quasiparticles with vast potential in data storage and information technology. Recently, optical skyrmions—light-based counterparts of these quasiparticles—have emerged as a promising avenue for developing advanced optical systems with unique topological properties. /news/2024-12-flexible-metafiber-device-generate-optical.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:30:01 EST news652977902 Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team have designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design parameters. /news/2024-11-quantum-boosts-efficiency-electricity-conversion.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 21 Nov 2024 15:38:04 EST news651425875 A new theory that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum level has enabled researchers to define for the first time the precise shape of a single photon. /news/2024-11-theory-reveals-photon.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 19 Nov 2024 09:59:57 EST news651232790 Polaritons are coupled excitations of electromagnetic waves with either charged particles or vibrations in the atomic lattice of a given material. They are widely used in nanophotonics because of their ability to confine light at extremely small volumes, on the order of nanometers, which is essential to enhance light-matter interactions. /news/2024-10-platform-2d-polaritons-miniaturized-spectrometers.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Oct 2024 12:20:12 EDT news648818409 How can we engineer materials that are stronger and lighter? What about new materials for extreme conditions, such as in jet engines and spacecraft? The answer, says Fadi Abdeljawad, an associate professor of materials science and engineering in Lehigh University's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, might be hidden in the infinitesimally tiny regions, or boundaries, where atoms in crystals come together. /news/2024-10-corners-atoms-path-materials-extreme.html Nanomaterials Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:43:21 EDT news648308592 Photonic applications harness the power of light-matter interactions to generate various intriguing phenomena. This has enabled major advances in communications, medicine, and spectroscopy, among others, and is also used in laser and quantum technologies. /news/2024-09-unique-nanodisk-photonics.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 11 Sep 2024 11:57:03 EDT news645274621 Researchers at Purdue University have trapped alkali atoms (cesium) on an integrated photonic circuit, which behaves like a transistor for photons (the smallest energy unit of light) similar to electronic transistors. These trapped atoms demonstrate the potential to build a quantum network based on cold-atom integrated nanophotonic circuits. /news/2024-07-atoms-photonic-transistors.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 29 Jul 2024 15:53:23 EDT news641487195 Quantum information systems offer faster, more powerful computing methods than standard computers to help solve many of the world's toughest problems. Yet fulfilling this ultimate promise will require bigger and more interconnected quantum computers than scientists have yet built. Scaling quantum systems up to larger sizes, and connecting multiple systems, has proved challenging. /news/2024-07-combining-atoms-photonics-quantum-devices.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:37:03 EDT news640975021 Dr. Jaeyeon Pyo's team at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has become the first in the world to reveal light emission patterns from 3D-printed nanowires, which has been published as a cover article in the journal ACS Nano. /news/2024-07-3d-method-reveals-emission-nanowires.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:59:03 EDT news640951141 Silicon, the cornerstone of modern electronics, photovoltaics, and photonics, has traditionally been limited to surface-level nanofabrication due to the challenges posed by existing lithographic techniques. Available methods either fail to penetrate the wafer surface without causing alterations or are limited by the micron-scale resolution of laser lithography within Si. /news/2024-07-unprecedented-nanostructuring-silicon.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 16 Jul 2024 05:00:01 EDT news640278122 Have you ever placed the palm of your left hand on the back of your right hand in such a way that all fingers point in the same direction? If you have, then you probably know that your left thumb will not touch its right counterpart. Neither rotations nor translations nor their combinations can turn a left hand into a right hand and vice versa. This feature is called chirality. /news/2024-07-physicists-imprint-previously-unseen-geometrical.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 11 Jul 2024 14:00:01 EDT news639920161 The levitation of microscopic objects in vacuum and the control of their movements while they are suspended was first demonstrated several decades ago. Since then, various research groups have been working on new approaches to control levitated objects in vacuum with greater degrees of freedom. /news/2024-07-vacuum-levitation-motion-optical-electrostatic.html Nanophysics Tue, 02 Jul 2024 07:00:01 EDT news639057124 A team of researchers from ANSTO and University of Technology Sydney have set a record by conducting thin film experiments at 1,100 degrees Celsius, using the Spatz reflectometer equipped with a vacuum furnace. /news/2024-06-world-thin-extreme-temperatures-reflectometry.html Nanomaterials Fri, 28 Jun 2024 07:31:00 EDT news638778655 Terahertz technology could help us meet the ever-increasing demand for faster data transfer rates. However, the down-conversion of a terahertz signal to arbitrary lower frequencies is difficult. /news/2024-06-frequency-terahertz-temporal-boundaries.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 24 Jun 2024 11:10:06 EDT news638446201 Recently, a team of chemists, mathematicians, physicists and nano-engineers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands developed a device to control the emission of photons with unprecedented precision. This technology could lead to more efficient miniature light sources, sensitive sensors, and stable quantum bits for quantum computing. /news/2024-05-device-precisely-photon-emission-efficient.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 29 May 2024 09:30:57 EDT news636193855 New work by researchers from the ARC Center of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) and City University of New York (CUNY) published May 27 in Nature Communications realizes a new, tunable edge-detecting filter for flat-optic imaging systems that can switch between an image of an object's outline and a detailed infrared image. /news/2024-05-metasurface-based-edge-filter-remote.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 28 May 2024 10:13:04 EDT news636109982