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 at Utrecht University have quantitatively mapped the three-dimensional structure of photonic supraparticles for the first time. Supraparticles are microscopic spheres composed of thousands of smaller colloidal ...
Nanophysics
Mar 10, 2026
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15
After decades of intense research, surprises in the realm of semiconductors—materials used in microchips to control electrical currents—are few and far between. But with a pair of published papers, materials engineers at ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 5, 2026
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147
A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has introduced a novel framework for monitoring structural vibrations using diffractive optical processors. This new technology uses artificial intelligence ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 5, 2026
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39
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. ...
Nanophysics
Mar 5, 2026
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107
Healable spacecraft structures could soon be possible thanks to cutting-edge composite technology. Swiss companies CompPair and CSEM with Belgian company Com&Sens have partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA) to modify ...
Space Exploration
Mar 5, 2026
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49
Light is an unusually rich carrier of information. Its direction of travel, wavelength, and polarization can all be used to encode signals or images. Yet controlling these properties independently remains difficult, especially ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 4, 2026
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53
In recent years, van der Waals crystals have evolved from scientific curiosities into a versatile platform for exploring novel quantum phases and unconventional nanophotonic phenomena. Their layered nature allows stacking, ...
Nanophysics
Mar 3, 2026
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23
Physicists and chemists at Heidelberg University have realized a photonic microchip that is driven by light just as easily as electronic components via a "plug." Their development could serve as the basis for fast and cost-effective ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 2, 2026
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161
Many cutting-edge technologies, ranging from augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to LiDAR (light detection and ranging) systems, rely on components that enable the precise control of light. These components include ...
Ultrathin, conductive films such as those made of graphene are widely used in modern optoelectronic devices, but it has been thought that their efficacy is fundamentally limited: they can absorb at most half of the incident ...
