Optical materials and elements, considered as a physical system, comprise engineered media and components that manipulate electromagnetic radiation in the optical frequency range through controlled refraction, reflection, diffraction, absorption, and emission. This system includes bulk and nanostructured dielectrics, semiconductors, and metals configured as lenses, mirrors, prisms, gratings, filters, waveplates, and coatings, characterized by parameters such as complex refractive index, dispersion, nonlinear susceptibilities, and anisotropy. Their collective behavior determines wavefront shaping, spectral and polarization control, and spatiotemporal light propagation, underpinning the performance of optical assemblies in imaging, beam delivery, photonic integration, and laser systems.
Working in close collaboration, researchers from Paderborn University, the University of Basel and Ruhr University Bochum have made a breakthrough in quantum communication. In their recently published paper in the journal ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 1, 2026
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Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have engineered new optical coatings for LIGO, the global collaboration hunting gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars.
Astronomy
Oct 1, 2026
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40
A new technique for controlling optical components with light could help usher in a generation of high-efficiency signal-processing technology that could drive futuristic applications such as holographic video.
Nanophysics
Sep 29, 2026
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23
Researchers at AIST have developed a device that measures the absolute surface profile of curved optical elements with high precision without touching them.
Optics & Photonics
Sep 29, 2026
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Chiral metal clusters that emit circularly polarized light often face a trade-off between photoluminescence efficiency and luminescence dissymmetry. A study published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials tested whether ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 29, 2026
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9
A tiny device that can be reprogrammed using a laser could lead to adaptable devices for computing, imaging and telecommunications. Most devices are built to perform a particular job. If you want them to do something different, ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 28, 2026
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56
When light or sound bounces around inside an oddly shaped room, its reflections can quickly become difficult to predict. But new research led by scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center ...
General Physics
Sep 28, 2026
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65
Quantum photonics could be a pivotal part of future quantum technology if the right materials can be created, a new review paper has found.
Optics & Photonics
Sep 25, 2026
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121
What if signs of disease could be detected using nothing more than a tiny chip that fits in the palm of your hand and a camera, without ever visiting a hospital? A scene that once seemed possible only in science fiction has ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 17, 2026
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53
New research led by the ARC Center of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) at the University of Melbourne demonstrates a new way to make invisible infrared light visible without relying on the expensive ...
Nanophysics
Sep 16, 2026
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