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.
Optical metasurfaces are finely crafted two-dimensional artificial nanostructures composed of meticulously designed arrays of ultrathin artificial atoms. These surfaces possess capabilities beyond natural materials, enabling ...
Nanophysics
Aug 30, 2024
0
109
Optical fiber, as a physical medium for information transmission, is the "highway" of modern economic and social development. However, with the continuous emergence of high-speed and high-capacity communication scenarios ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 28, 2024
0
62
Researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have experimentally demonstrated that metasurfaces (two-dimensional materials structured at the nanoscale) can precisely control ...
Nanophysics
Aug 23, 2024
0
187
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional counterparts of metamaterials, which are artificial materials that possess unusual characteristics. With a variety of fascinatingly innovative and diverse uses, these specially-prepared surfaces ...
Nanophysics
Aug 22, 2024
0
119
Integrated photonic circuits operating at room temperature combined with optical nonlinear effects could revolutionize both classical and quantum signal processing. Scientists from the Faculty of Physics at the University ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 22, 2024
0
103
Optical materials are essential in many modern applications, but controlling the way a material reflects light on its surface is costly and difficult. Now, in a recent study, researchers from Japan found a simple and low-cost ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 22, 2024
0
79
Table salt and refined sugar look white to our eyes, but that is only because their individual colorless crystals scatter visible light. This feature of crystals is not always desirable when it comes to materials for optical ...
Nanomaterials
Aug 21, 2024
0
71
Augmented reality (AR) has evolved from a futuristic concept to a widespread technology, thanks to advancements in microdisplay technologies, ultracompact imaging optics, and high-speed digital processors.
Optics & Photonics
Aug 19, 2024
0
83
An automated computational approach to the optical lens design of imaging systems promises to provide optimal solutions without human intervention, slashing the time and cost usually required. The result could be improved ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 12, 2024
0
117
Researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have made unexpected progress toward developing a new optical memory that can quickly and energy-efficiently store and access computational ...
General Physics
Aug 9, 2024
0
336
