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.
Relaying a message from point A to B can be as simple as flashing a thumbs-up at a stranger in an intersection, signaling them to proceed—nonverbal, clear, and universally understood. But light-based communication is rarely ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 9, 2025
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A new approach to manufacturing multicolor lenses could inspire a new generation of tiny, cheap, and powerful optics for portable devices such as phones and drones.
Optics & Photonics
Sep 9, 2025
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The iridescent blue of butterfly wings has inspired researchers to find a solution to a challenge previously considered insurmountable—dynamically tuning advanced optical processes at visible wavelengths.
Optics & Photonics
Sep 9, 2025
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A research team has developed a next-generation display core material with excellent stretchability and superior color reproduction. The team developed a high-performance color-conversion layer that is more flexible and vivid ...
Nanomaterials
Sep 8, 2025
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Researchers at The City College of New York have shown how a quantum emitter, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, interacts in unexpected ways with a specially engineered photonic structure when moved around with ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 3, 2025
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Despite the modern world relying heavily on digital optical communication, there has not been a significant improvement in the minimum attenuation—a measure of the loss of optical power per kilometer traveled—of optical ...
A research team has developed a new material that can significantly enhance the lifetime and efficiency of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs), which is a next-generation display technology. Applying a high-binding-energy ...
Nanophysics
Aug 25, 2025
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A study conducted by researchers from the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has demonstrated how nitrogen vacancies (VN) resolve asymmetric carrier injection ...
Condensed Matter
Aug 21, 2025
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Researchers have developed a technique to fold glass sheets into microscopic 3D photonic structures directly on a chip—a process they call photonic origami. The method could enable tiny, yet complex optical devices for ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 21, 2025
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Imagine a whirlpool spinning in a river, or a tornado swirling through the sky. They don't just spin on the spot: they travel forward while maintaining that spiraling motion inside them. These twisting motions, called vortices, ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 19, 2025
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