http://phys.org/physics-news/optics-photonics/ en-us PhysOrg Team Phys.Org provides the latest news on Optics and Photonics If the sight of a needle makes you squeamish, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology are developing a new optical microscope for viewing blood cells that could do away with conventional blood tests. The device, in an early prototype stage, would make it possible to collect vital blood information by simply shining a light through the skin to look directly at the blood. The microscope’s benefits are manifold. Information is read immediately -- eliminating the waiting time for test results, and leading to earlier diagnoses. The microscope is widely accessible because it does not rely on medical labs to decipher the results. And crucial for the faint of heart – the 30-second procedure eliminates the use of needles. http://phys.org/news257674405.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-05-31T10:00:01-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Whether used in telescopes or optoelectronic communications, infrared detectors must be continuously cooled to avoid being overwhelmed by stray thermal radiation. Now, a team of researchers from Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Duke University (USA) is harnessing the remarkable properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to create highly sensitive, “uncooled” photovoltaic infrared detectors. http://phys.org/news256987449.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-05-23T11:00:01-07:00 Blood tests convey vital medical information, but the sight of a needle often causes anxiety and results take time. A new device developed by a team of researchers in Israel, however, can reveal much the same information as a traditional blood test in real-time, simply by shining a light through the skin. This optical instrument, no bigger than a breadbox, is able to provide high-resolution images of blood coursing through our veins without the need for harsh and short-lived fluorescent dyes. http://phys.org/news256818055.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-05-21T11:21:24-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people who have lost vision because of certain types of degenerative eye diseases. http://phys.org/news256041317.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-05-13T13:00:23-07:00 A new approach to generating terahertz radiation will lead to new imaging and sensing applications. The low energy of the radiation means that it can pass through materials that are otherwise opaque, opening up uses in imaging and sensing — for example, in new security scanners. In practice, however, applications have been difficult to implement. http://phys.org/news255856021.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-05-10T08:40:04-07:00 X-ray mammography is an important diagnostic tool in the fight against breast cancer, but it has certain drawbacks that limit its effectiveness. For example, it can give in false positive and negative results; it also exposes women to low doses of ionizing radiation, which – while accepted as safe – still carry some risk. http://phys.org/news255625421.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-05-07T16:03:54-07:00 Taking their cue from the humble leaf, researchers have used microscopic folds on the surface of photovoltaic material to significantly increase the power output of flexible, low-cost solar cells. http://phys.org/news254747162.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-27T12:06:21-07:00 Ultra fast, robust, stable, and high precision: these are some of the characteristics of a new laser developed by an international research team. This ultra-small laser paves the way for a new generation of highly powerful, ultra-stable integrated lasers. Professor Roberto Morandotti and his team at the INRS University's Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre played a leading role in the design of this versatile laser that recently made the front page of the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications. http://phys.org/news254675416.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-26T16:19:41-07:00 New laser-effect, discovered by scientists from the Vienna University of Technology, Princeton, Yale and ETH Zurich: If coupled, lasers can switch each other off, leading to a "laser blackout". http://phys.org/news254566542.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-25T09:56:46-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have designed a method to evaluate different conductors for use in metamaterial structures, which are engineered to exhibit properties not possible in natural materials. The work was reported this month in Nature Photonics. http://phys.org/news254474472.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-24T09:10:01-07:00 Whether surgeons slice with a traditional scalpel or cut away with a surgical laser, most medical operations end up removing some healthy tissue, along with the bad. This means that for delicate areas like the brain, throat, and digestive tract, physicians and patients have to balance the benefits of treatment against possible collateral damage. http://phys.org/news254404540.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-23T12:55:47-07:00 Researchers discover that a deformed layer of graphene can focus electrons similar to the way an optical lens bends light. http://phys.org/news253968576.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-18T11:49:49-07:00 Correctly and quickly diagnosing malaria is essential for effective and life-saving treatment. But rapid detection, particularly in remote areas, is not always possible because current methods are time-consuming and require precise instrumentation and highly skilled microscopic analysis. Now, a promising new optical imaging system, described in a paper published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express, may make the diagnosis of this deadly disease much easier, faster, and more accurate. http://phys.org/news253967710.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-18T11:35:53-07:00 The ability to control the flow of electrons using engineered materials is fundamental to the information technology revolution, yet many properties of matter are still unclear. Now a University of Alberta researcher is closer to understanding some of the exotic electronic properties in matter using optical analogues. http://phys.org/news253601086.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-14T05:45:04-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Scientists in PML's Quantum Measurement Division have produced the first superluminal light pulses made by using a technique called four-wave mixing, creating two separate pulses whose peaks propagate faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. http://phys.org/news252920660.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-06T08:44:43-07:00 Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a novel "superradiant" laser design, which has the potential to be 100 to 1,000 times more stable than the best conventional visible lasers. This type of laser could boost the performance of the most advanced atomic clocks and related technologies, such as communications and navigation systems as well as space-based astronomical instruments. http://phys.org/news252758692.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-04T13:00:06-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Computing and medicine are among the many fields which could be revolutionised by a new form of ultra-small laser. http://phys.org/news252749441.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-04T09:12:36-07:00 Neural imaging—maps of brain functions—is a primary tool used by researchers hoping to transform the lives of people living with chronic neurological conditions such as epilepsy. At present, researchers often require several different imaging techniques to fully map brain functions, making research and treatment of these conditions expensive and inefficient. http://phys.org/news252588780.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-02T12:33:14-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- When an optical fiber is bent by 90° or more, the light begins to leak away, posing a problem for fiber optics communications. But by using special lenses that can bend light by not only 90°, but also 180° (i.e., a U-turn) or 360° (i.e., a full loop), scientists may limit light leakage in optical fibers and overcome this problem, not to mention provide a useful material for many other applications. Recently, a team of scientists has theoretically investigated materials for achieving this kind of advanced light control, which could work equally well for sound waves. http://phys.org/news252572239.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-04-02T07:58:00-07:00 Researchers in Europe have succeeded in presenting an integrated tuneable transmitter on silicon - the first time this has ever happened. This results are an outcome of the HELIOS ('Photonics electronics functional integration on complementary metal oxide-semiconductor, CMOS') project. The team presented the results at the recent Optical Fiber Communication conference in Los Angeles. http://phys.org/news252318713.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-30T09:32:12-07:00 Active optical fibers with silicon photonic chips can carry a lot more information for data interconnect than copper cables. Silicon photonics can also be the material of choice for wiring 'lab-on-a-chip' devices — however, the construction of such devices is not without its challenges. One of the greatest difficulties is the implementation of lasers because silicon is a poor light emitter, but is commonly required for a photonic system on chip. http://phys.org/news252229755.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-29T09:03:53-07:00 A team of physicists at UC Santa Barbara has seen the light, and it comes in many different colors. By aiming high- and low-frequency laser beams at a semiconductor, the researchers caused electrons to be ripped from their cores, accelerated, and then smashed back into the cores they left behind. This recollision produced multiple frequencies of light simultaneously. Their findings appear in the current issue of the science journal Nature. http://phys.org/news252163310.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-28T14:22:08-07:00 Helping bridge the gap between photonics and electronics, researchers from Purdue University have coaxed a thin film of titanium nitride into transporting plasmons, tiny electron excitations coupled to light that can direct and manipulate optical signals on the nanoscale. Titanium nitride's addition to the short list of surface-plasmon-supporting materials, formerly comprised only of metals, could point the way to a new class of optoelectronic devices with unprecedented speed and efficiency. http://phys.org/news252072766.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-27T13:13:07-07:00 In a new approach to invisibility cloaking, a team of French researchers has proposed isolating or cloaking objects from sources of heat—essentially "thermal cloaking." This method, which the researchers describe in the Optical Society's open-access journal Optics Express, taps into some of the same principles as optical cloaking and may lead to novel ways to control heat in electronics and, on an even larger scale, might someday prove useful for spacecraft and solar technologies. http://phys.org/news251980869.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-26T11:41:15-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Transistors, resistors, capacitors, and diodes. All of these are examples of common electrical circuit elements that can be found on a computer motherboard, for instance. Billions of transistors make up a processor, with each one being less than 100 nanometers in size. This is more than 10 times smaller than the diameter of a blood cell. http://phys.org/news251716104.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-23T10:09:06-07:00 Duke University engineers believe that continued advances in creating ever-more exotic and sophisticated man-made materials will greatly improve their ability to control light at will. http://phys.org/news251297369.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-18T14:00:34-07:00 Most light emitters, from candles to light bulbs to computer screens, look the same from any angle. But in a paper published this week on the Nature Photonics website, MIT researchers report the development of a new light source — a fiber only a little thicker than a human hair — whose brightness can be controllably varied for different viewers. http://phys.org/news250754225.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-12T06:57:14-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- IBM scientists today will report on a prototype optical chipset, dubbed “Holey Optochip”, that is the first parallel optical transceiver to transfer one trillion bits – one terabit – of information per second, the equivalent of downloading 500 high definition movies. The report will be presented at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference taking place in Los Angeles. http://phys.org/news250417821.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-08T08:30:48-07:00 Many of the communication tools of today rely on the function of light or, more specifically, on applying information to a light wave. Up until now, studies on electronic and optical devices with materials that are the foundations of modern electronics—such as radio, TV, and computers—have generally relied on nonlinear optical effects, producing devices whose bandwidth has been limited to the gigahertz (GHz) frequency region. Thanks to research performed at the University of Pittsburgh, a physical basis for terahertz bandwidth (THz)—the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and microwave light—has now been demonstrated. http://phys.org/news250357412.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-07T15:43:46-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- If there is life on other planets, a laser frequency comb developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may help find it. http://phys.org/news250333948.html Physics - Optics & Photonics 2012-03-07T09:12:55-07:00