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.
Researchers from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy have flipped a long-held assumption in optics, showing that deliberately introducing controlled disorder into ultra-thin optical devices can dramatically ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 10, 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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An international team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of California, Irvine, has demonstrated a fundamentally new way to make silicon emit light—overcoming one of the most persistent limitations in modern ...
Nanophysics
Apr 8, 2026
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Polarization has always been a core property of light that is essential for a broad range of everyday applications, including displays (LED, LCD, 3D Cinematics), photography, as well as satellite and antenna technologies. ...
Most laser sources produce Gaussian beams that diverge as they propagate. This natural spreading limits their effectiveness in applications that require light to remain concentrated over long distances. To overcome this challenge, ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 2, 2026
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The direction in which the electromagnetic field of circularly polarized light rotates can be easily reversed by applying a voltage, RIKEN researchers have demonstrated. This could enable a new generation of optical devices ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 1, 2026
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Light can carry angular momentum in two distinct ways. One comes from polarization, which describes how the electric field rotates. The other comes from the shape of the wavefront itself, which can twist like a corkscrew ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 31, 2026
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Recent advancements in nanophotonics are moving beyond isotropic noble metals to achieve dynamic and directional control over plasmons. Conventional localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) are limited by their isotropic ...
Nanophysics
Mar 31, 2026
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Just as an antenna interacts with radio waves, light interacts with metallic nanostructures. Therefore, understanding how a structure influences field oscillations provides valuable insights into the structure's physical ...
Nanophysics
Mar 26, 2026
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From 3D movie screens to augmented-reality devices, many modern technologies rely on our ability to manipulate light. Doing so in a cost-effective and efficient way, however, is often a formidable task. In an article published ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 26, 2026
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