Interferometry is a measurement technique that exploits the superposition of coherent waves, typically electromagnetic or matter waves, to extract precise information from the resulting interference pattern. By splitting a wavefront into multiple paths that traverse different optical or physical conditions and then recombining them, interferometry enables highly sensitive determination of path length differences, refractive index variations, surface topography, displacements, and phase shifts. It underpins applications such as optical metrology, gravitational wave detection, astronomical aperture synthesis, and coherence characterization, with performance determined by factors including coherence length, phase stability, wavelength, and environmental noise control.
Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in spacetime. Their first direct detection in 2015 marked a revolutionary moment in astronomy. Today, we have a thorough understanding of signals that travel far from their sources through ...
General Physics
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Spectroscopy has many applications, ranging from fundamental tests of quantum electrodynamics and investigations of molecular structure to environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostics and industrial monitoring. A highly ...
Optics & Photonics
May 26, 2026
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Gravitational wave researchers working on the world's most sensitive scientific instruments have found a way to tune their detectors using a process akin to the pitch-correction used in music production.
Astronomy
May 12, 2026
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Scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China have successfully deployed a multi-mode quantum relay network, achieving matter–matter entanglement over 14.5 kilometers, according to media reports.
Optics & Photonics
May 12, 2026
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Researchers have developed, for the first time in the world, incoherent dielectric tensor tomography (iDTT), a technology that can read complex three-dimensional optical fingerprints inside materials using only everyday LED ...
Optics & Photonics
May 7, 2026
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Researchers at Skoltech have developed an ultra-compact electro-optic modulator based on silicon photonics and plasmonics that enables high-efficiency optical signal control within a small device footprint. The development ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 28, 2026
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A rainbow reveals with colors what otherwise remains hidden: light is "refracted" by transparent matter, in this case water droplets. This same physical effect underlies many everyday technologies, like LCD screens and broadband ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 27, 2026
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Optical vortices—light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM)—are characterized by helical wavefronts and phase singularities. While they have been widely studied in recent decades, two fundamental limitations have ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 9, 2026
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A new, miniature laser source developed by applied physicists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien) could soon pack the power of ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 31, 2026
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The nature of quantum particles has long puzzled scientists. While single-particle interference suggests that a photon can behave like a spread-out wave, a whole photon is only ever detected in one specific place. Traditional ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 26, 2026
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