Laser systems, as physical systems, comprise an optical gain medium, an energy pump source, and an optical resonator configured to produce coherent, monochromatic, and highly directional electromagnetic radiation via stimulated emission. The gain medium (solid-state, gas, liquid, or semiconductor) is excited by optical, electrical, or chemical pumping, creating a population inversion between quantized energy levels. The resonator, typically a pair of mirrors or integrated waveguide structures, provides optical feedback and mode selection, defining spatial and spectral properties. System performance is characterized by thresholds, efficiency, beam quality (M²), temporal regime (CW or pulsed), and stability against thermal, mechanical, and nonlinear optical effects.
A sheet of twisted carbon nanotubes has revealed a hidden talent scientists suspected for decades but had never managed to measure. Researchers at Rice University have created large, highly ordered films of chiral carbon ...
Nanophysics
May 20, 2026
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68
In the HiPEQ project, a consortium of industry and research partners has developed new laser-based approaches to enable miniaturized, robust beam sources for quantum technology. Among others, the consortium also used lasers ...
Optics & Photonics
May 19, 2026
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23
Chinese scientists have developed a programmable quantum computing prototype called Jiuzhang 4.0 that has set a new world record for optical quantum information technology, according to a study published May 13 in the journal ...
Optics & Photonics
May 18, 2026
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76
Near-infrared light is invisible to humans. And yet, under the right conditions, the human eye can perceive it. Researchers from Poland's International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) have now shown that the ...
Optics & Photonics
May 14, 2026
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38
Simulating the nonlinear optical physics that underlies ultrafast laser systems is computationally demanding—a practical bottleneck in settings that require rapid feedback. A study by researchers at Stanford University, University ...
Optics & Photonics
May 12, 2026
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28
XPP, the X-ray Pump Probe instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), is back online and welcoming researchers after a complete rebuild. The overhaul has readied XPP for the significant increase in X-ray output ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 30, 2026
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9
Researchers have developed tiny flexible lasers that can be used to measure forces inside living cells. The new lasers could help illuminate various biological processes, including those involved in early development and ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 29, 2026
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48
In the increasingly digital world, the demand for faster, more efficient and miniaturized optical devices is ever-growing. From high-speed internet and secure quantum communications to advanced medical imaging and precision ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 29, 2026
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8
Researchers from Skoltech and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics have developed an approach that helps optimize the parameters of a laser-plasma source of attosecond pulses—ultrashort flashes of light used ...
General Physics
Apr 27, 2026
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9
MIT researchers discovered a paradoxical phenomenon in optical physics that could enable a new bioimaging method that's faster and higher-resolution than existing technology. They discovered that, under the right conditions, ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 27, 2026
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