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.
One of the major challenges in the quest to beat cancer is developing treatments that can selectively destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. With this in mind, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 2, 2026
0
11
Inside a lab at the University of Texas at Dallas, researchers have re-created a small-scale ocean environment where they can make waves build, break and crash into one another.
Earth Sciences
Sep 2, 2026
0
7
A research group in Japan has demonstrated a world-record 10-channel multiplexed quantum photonic interface based on an integrated waveguide array, a key technology for optically interconnecting multiple quantum computers. ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 1, 2026
1
26
Researchers at Delft University of Technology have demonstrated for the first time that nano-antennas can enhance the fluorescence of proteins in living human and other mammalian cells. Scientists already use smart fluorescent ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 28, 2026
0
35
Researchers have developed fluorescent molecules that permit imaging of how DNA is packaged inside living cells at unprecedented resolution and, in preserved cells, at a resolution close to the width of the double helix itself.
Biotechnology
Aug 28, 2026
0
47
Despite all the advertisements for engagement rings and necklace gifts, natural diamonds are imperfect. Their carbon atoms are arranged in a cubic lattice, but they nonetheless contain several types of crystallographic defects ...
For decades, physicists have used a technique called Mössbauer spectroscopy to peer inside solid materials, revealing fine details of their surroundings by studying how their atomic nuclei absorb and re-emit gamma rays.
You may have once tried taking a close-up picture of a computer screen and noticed a wavy, rippling effect. This optical effect occurs whenever two fine, repeating grids overlap and slightly misalign, such as when the pixel ...
Nanophysics
Aug 24, 2026
0
19
A research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has developed a new optical corner-detection imaging method that uses azimuthal Hilbert transform metasurfaces and is designed to work as a universal framework. The ...
General Physics
Aug 24, 2026
0
24
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant subtypes of breast cancer, accounting for 15% to 20% of all cases. Unlike other breast cancers, TNBC lacks targetable receptors, leaving ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 21, 2026
0
17
