Optics News

July 2, 2025

Top Headlines

Self-Lighting Chip Uses Quantum Tunneling to Spot a Trillionth of a Gram

June 27, 2025 — Imagine detecting a single trillionth of a gram of a molecule—like an amino acid—using just electricity and a chip smaller than your fingernail. That’s the power of a new quantum-enabled biosensor developed at EPFL. Ditching bulky lasers, it ...

One Shot, Game Changed: How RAVEN Captured a Petawatt Laser and Supercharged Fusion Research

June 27, 2025 — Scientists have developed a groundbreaking technique called RAVEN that can capture the full complexity of an ultra-intense laser pulse in a single shot—something previously thought nearly ...

Invisible Quantum Waves Forge Shape-Shifting Super-Materials in Real Time

June 20, 2025 — Scientists have, for the first time, directly observed phonon wave dynamics within self-assembling nanomaterials unlocking the potential for customizable, reconfigurable metamaterials with applications ranging from shock absorbers to advanced ...

This Quantum Sensor Tracks 3D Movement Without GPS

June 14, 2025 — Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have created a groundbreaking quantum device that can measure 3D acceleration using ultracold atoms, something once thought nearly impossible. By chilling rubidium atoms to near absolute zero and ...

Atmospheric Chemistry Keeps Pollutants in the Air

June 3, 2025 — A new study details processes that keep pollutants aloft despite a drop in ...

Ultra-Thin Lenses That Make Infrared Light Visible

June 2, 2025 — Physicists have developed a lens with 'magic' properties. Ultra-thin, it can transform infrared light into visible light by halving the wavelength of incident ...

Self-Powered Artificial Synapse Mimics Human Color Vision

June 2, 2025 — Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a self-powered artificial synapse that distinguishes ...

New Laser Smaller Than a Penny Can Measure Objects at Ultrafast Rates

June 2, 2025 — Researchers have engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the most delicate experiments in existence to observe ...

Laser Technique Revolutionizes Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic Manufacturing for Space, Defense Applications

May 30, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated a new technique that uses lasers to create ceramics that can withstand ultra-high temperatures, with applications ranging from nuclear power technologies to spacecraft ...

Thousands of Sensors Reveal 3D Structure of Earthquake-Triggered Sound Waves

May 30, 2025 — Earthquakes create ripple effects in Earth's upper atmosphere that can disrupt satellite communications and navigation systems we rely on. Scientists have now used Japan's extensive network of Global ...

Listening to Electrons Talk

May 29, 2025 — Researchers present new experimental and theoretical results for the bound electron g-factor in lithium-like tin which has a much higher nuclear charge than any previous measurement. The experimental accuracy reached a level of 0.5 parts per ...

New Chiral Photonic Device Combines Light Manipulation With Memory

May 28, 2025 — Engineers have developed a multifunctional, reconfigurable component for an optical computing system that could be a game changer in ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:04am EDT

This Triple-Layer Sunlight Catalyst Supercharges Green Hydrogen by 800%

June 23, 2025 — Researchers in Sweden have developed a powerful new material that dramatically boosts the ability to create hydrogen fuel from water using sunlight, making the process eight times more effective than ...

Photons Collide in the Void: Quantum Simulation Creates Light out of Nothing

June 8, 2025 — Physicists have managed to simulate a strange quantum phenomenon where light appears to arise from empty space a concept that until now has only ...

Machine Learning Simplifies Industrial Laser Processes

May 27, 2025 — Laser-based metal processing enables the automated and precise production of complex components, whether for the automotive industry or for medicine. However, conventional methods require time- and ...

The Magic of Light: Dozens of Images Hidden in a Single Screen

May 27, 2025 — New technology that uses light's color and spin to display multiple ...

Controlling Quantum Motion and Hyper-Entanglement

May 26, 2025 — A new experiment encodes quantum information in the motion of the atoms and creates a state known as hyper-entanglement, in which two or more traits are linked among a pair of ...

A Rule-Breaking, Colorful Silicone That Could Conduct Electricity

May 26, 2025 — A newly discovered silicone variant is a semiconductor, researchers have discovered -- upending assumptions that the material class is exclusively ...

'Green' Ammonia Powered by Sunlight

May 26, 2025 — Ammonia is a chemical essential to many agricultural and industrial processes, but it's mode of production comes with an incredibly high energy cost. Various attempts have, and are, being made to ...

A Faster, More Reliable Method for Simulating the Plasmas Used to Make Computer Chips

May 23, 2025 — Researchers developed a faster, more stable way to simulate the swirling electric fields inside industrial plasmas -- the kind used to make ...

Efficiency Upgrade for OLED Screens: A Route to Blue PHOLED Longevity

May 23, 2025 — Blue phosphorescent OLEDs can now last as long as the green phosphorescent OLEDs already in devices, researchers have demonstrated, paving the way for further improving the energy efficiency of OLED ...

Major Step for Flat and Adjustable Optics

May 22, 2025 — By carefully placing nanostructures on a flat surface, researchers have significantly improved the performance of so-called optical metasurfaces in conductive plastics. This is a major step for ...

Infrared Contact Lenses Allow People to See in the Dark, Even With Their Eyes Closed

May 22, 2025 — Neuroscientists and materials scientists have created contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice by converting infrared light into visible light. Unlike infrared night vision ...

A One-Pixel Camera for Recording Holographic Movies

May 21, 2025 — A new camera setup can record three-dimensional movies with a single pixel. Moreover, the technique can obtain images outside the visible spectrum and even through tissues. The development thus opens ...

Empowering Robots With Human-Like Perception to Navigate Unwieldy Terrain

May 19, 2025 — Researchers have developed a novel framework named WildFusion that fuses vision, vibration and touch to enable robots to 'sense' and navigate complex outdoor environments much like humans ...

Tiny Microlaser Sensors Offer Supercharged Biosensing

May 19, 2025 — Researchers have developed a 3D micro-printed sensor for highly sensitive on-chip biosensing, opening new opportunities for developing high-performance, cost-effective lab-on-a-chip devices for early ...

UCF's 'Bridge Doctor' Combines Imaging, Neural Network to Efficiently Evaluate Concrete Bridges' Safety

May 16, 2025 — New research details how infrared thermography, high-definition imaging and neural network analysis can combine to make concrete bridge inspections more efficient. Researchers are hopeful that their ...

New Insights Into Quantum Physics

May 15, 2025 — A new study explores how EOS transmits ultrashort laser pulses through crystals that change in response to an applied electric field. This technique allows researchers to accurately capture the shape ...

Researchers Discover a More Eco-Friendly Approach to Study Light and Matter Interaction -- Could Revolutionize Development of Emerging Technologies

May 14, 2025 — Researchers have developed a simple method to explore a complex area of quantum science. The discovery makes research in this field cheaper and more accessible, which could significantly impact the ...

Enzymes from Scratch

May 13, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new workflow for designing enzymes from scratch, paving the way toward more efficient, powerful and environmentally benign chemistry. The new method allows designers to ...

Astrophysicist Searches for Ripples in Space and Time in New Way

May 12, 2025 — Massive ripples in the very fabric of space and time wash over Earth constantly, although you'd never notice. An astrophysicist is trying a new search for these gravitational ...

Scientists Innovate Mid-Infrared Photodetectors for Exoplanet Detection, Expanding Applications to Environmental and Medical Fields

May 9, 2025 — Researchers have developed an innovative photodetector capable of detecting a broad range of mid-infrared ...

Satellite Measures CO2 and NO2 Simultaneously from Power Plant Emissions for the First Time

May 9, 2025 — A research team used the German environmental satellite EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) to simultaneously detect the two key air pollutants carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen ...

Stability Solution Brings Unique Form of Carbon Closer to Practical Application

May 9, 2025 — Carbyne, a one-dimensional chain of carbon atoms, is incredibly strong for being so thin, making it an intriguing possibility for use in next-generation electronics, but its extreme instability made ...

Ping Pong Bot Returns Shots With High-Speed Precision

May 8, 2025 — Engineers developed a ping-pong-playing robot that quickly estimates the speed and trajectory of an incoming ball and precisely hits it to a desired location on the ...

The Squid Galaxy's Neutrino Game Just Leveled Up

May 8, 2025 — In space, energetic neutrinos are usually paired with energetic gamma rays. Galaxy NGC 1068, however, emits strong neutrinos and weak gamma rays, which presents a puzzle for scientists to solve. A ...

One Glass, Full Color: Sub-Millimeter Waveguide Shrinks AR Glasses

May 8, 2025 — Augmented-reality (AR) technology is rapidly finding its way into everyday life, from education and healthcare to gaming and entertainment. However, the core AR device remains bulky and heavy, making ...

'Universe's Awkward Handshake' -- Simplifying Information Processing Using Photons a Quantum Breakthrough

May 8, 2025 — Researchers have developed a technique that makes high-dimensional quantum information encoded in light more practical and reliable. The advancement could pave the way for more secure data ...

Physicists Snap the First Images of 'Free-Range' Atoms

May 7, 2025 — Physicists captured the first images of individual atoms freely interacting in space. The pictures reveal correlations among the 'free-range' particles that until now were predicted but ...

Experimental Quantum Communications Network

May 6, 2025 — Researchers recently connected their campuses with an experimental quantum communications network using two optical ...

Would a Musical Triangle of Any Other Shape Sound as Sweet?

May 6, 2025 — Researchers captured sound fields around musical triangles. They wanted to understand the physical properties of the triangle instrument, test assumptions about the contribution of the triangle ...

A Snapshot of Relativistic Motion: Special Relativity Made Visible

May 5, 2025 — In 1959, physicists James Terrell and Roger Penrose (Nobel laureate in 2020) independently concluded that fast-moving objects should appear rotated. However, this effect has never been demonstrated. ...