Optical techniques are experimental and analytical methods that exploit the generation, manipulation, and detection of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared ranges to probe material properties, structures, and dynamics. They encompass approaches such as absorption, fluorescence, Raman and elastic scattering measurements, interferometry, and imaging modalities that rely on well-defined light–matter interactions. These techniques enable quantitative characterization of refractive indices, absorption coefficients, energy level structures, molecular conformations, and nanoscale morphology, often with high spatial and temporal resolution. Optical techniques are widely integrated with spectroscopy, microscopy, and metrology platforms and can be implemented in both far-field and near-field configurations.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have built a microscope that can detect a signal over an intensity range 14 times wider than conventional microscopes. Moreover, the observations are made label-free, that is, without ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 14, 2025
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119
Scientists at Japan's Institute for Molecular Science have achieved a 1,000-fold enhancement in white-light generation inside water by using non-harmonic two-color femtosecond laser excitation. This previously unexplored ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 11, 2025
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156
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have achieved high-resolution visualization of cellular organelles, such as nuclei and mitochondria, using an external apodized phase contrast (ExAPC) microscope. By effectively suppressing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 10, 2025
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22
The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has successfully demonstrated entanglement swapping (one of the key quantum communication protocols) using sum-frequency generation (SFG) between ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 6, 2025
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129
Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GM-APDs) are highly sensitive light detectors, capable of detecting single photons. Photons of certain wavelengths, when absorbed by photodiodes, generate electron-hole pairs in a process ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 4, 2025
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45
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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89
Researchers have developed a new technology that can shape the spectrum of light emitted from a laser frequency comb across the visible and near-infrared wavelengths with more precision than previously possible. This advance ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 30, 2025
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69
EPFL researchers have developed a method to calibrate electron spectrometers with extreme accuracy by linking microwave, optical, and free-electron frequencies.
Optics & Photonics
Oct 29, 2025
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50
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a technology for real-time estimation of the valence state and growth rate of iron oxide thin films during their formation. This novel technology was realized by analyzing ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 28, 2025
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41
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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