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.
A slender glass fiber no thicker than a human hair placed across a particle beam could improve accelerator monitoring. A team is testing the use of hollow-core optical fibers to measure the profile and position of the beams ...
General Physics
Nov 18, 2025
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Researchers have designed and demonstrated a new optical component that could significantly enhance the brightness and image quality of augmented reality (AR) glasses. The advance brings AR glasses a step closer to becoming ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 11, 2025
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In the world of optics, tiny structures called microcavities—often no wider than a human hair—play a crucial role in technologies ranging from lasers to sensors.
Optics & Photonics
Nov 6, 2025
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Researchers have been developing computers that deploy light (photons) rather than electricity to power storage and calculations. These light-based computers have the potential to be more energy efficient than traditional ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 6, 2025
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Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials play a vital role in modern photonic technology, driving advancements in applications such as laser frequency conversion, ultrafast optical switching, and quantum information processing. ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 6, 2025
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Researchers have developed a highly sensitive method for detecting hotspots in the environment, such as bushfires or military threats, by harnessing the focusing power of meta-optical systems.
Optics & Photonics
Nov 4, 2025
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At 4 degrees Kelvin, most electro-optic materials falter. Nanoelectronics R&D center imec has now successfully engineered thin-film strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) that delivers record electro-optic performance with low optical ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 4, 2025
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A global team of experts from academia and industry has joined forces in a landmark Consensus Statement on next-generation photodetectors based on emerging light-responsive materials, which could accelerate innovative applications ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 3, 2025
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Physicists at Umeå University, in collaboration with researchers in China, have developed a laser made entirely from biomaterials—birch leaves and peanut kernels. The environmentally friendly laser could become an inexpensive ...
Nanophysics
Nov 3, 2025
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24
In a new milestone for space-enabled semiconductor research, the University of Florida, in collaboration with NASA, MIT, Vanguard Automation, AIM Photonics and Germany's Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, launched a suite ...
Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2025
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