Optical & microwave phenomena as a research area investigates the generation, propagation, interaction, and detection of electromagnetic radiation spanning the optical (visible, ultraviolet, infrared) and microwave spectral ranges, with emphasis on their underlying physical mechanisms and cross-regime analogies. It encompasses coherent and incoherent light–matter interactions, waveguiding, scattering, nonlinear effects, resonances, and quantum electrodynamical aspects, as well as microwave cavity dynamics, dispersion, and near-field behavior. The field supports development of advanced spectroscopies, imaging modalities, communication and sensing technologies, and enables engineered materials and structures (e.g., photonic and microwave metamaterials) that tailor electromagnetic response across these frequency bands.
For the first time, researchers have directly imaged the magnetization dynamics inside a spin Hall nano-oscillator—a nanoscale device that converts direct current into tunable microwave signals and is a promising building ...
Nanophysics
Sep 23, 2026
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50
Asteroids don't come with a warning label that they might one day hit Earth. While we don't know of any currently on course to do so, we are finding thousands of new ones each year, and there's always a chance that one could.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 23, 2026
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11
Engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have designed a new type of quantum nanostructure that could enable optical neural networks. This emerging technology has the potential to make artificial intelligence systems, ...
Nanophysics
Sep 22, 2026
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40
Physicists at The City College of New York have demonstrated a new way to transfer microwave signals onto light using magnetic waves inside a layered semiconductor. The work establishes a materials platform for building interfaces ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 17, 2026
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92
Xufeng Zhang is using magnets to make computers more power efficient at the quantum level. The Northeastern professor of electrical and computer engineering recently published two papers highlighting small-scale magnetic ...
Quantum Physics
Sep 15, 2026
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36
"Color coatings are expected to provide vivid color, brightness, gloss and long-term durability, yet no existing technology satisfies all of these requirements simultaneously," says Kobe University materials engineer Hiroshi ...
Nanomaterials
Sep 12, 2026
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135
One of the central ideas in modern physics is the phase transition—a sudden transformation of the state of a material. We encounter phase transitions throughout everyday life: water freezes into ice, wax melts in the warmth ...
Table tennis professionals are true masters at redirecting fast-moving projectiles. Putting a targeted spin on a serve can make the little white ball fly straight toward the edge of the table but then, at the last moment, ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 27, 2026
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144
The search for materials that can power future quantum technologies is accelerating, but identifying the most promising candidates remains painfully slow. Evaluating whether a material can efficiently emit quantum light requires ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 25, 2026
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32
Loughborough University physicists and an international team have demonstrated that a grain-of-rice-sized microchip can be used to produce a spectrum of precisely spaced frequencies of light, which is then converted into ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 21, 2026
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