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.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) engineers and scientists, in collaboration with Stanford University, have demonstrated a breakthrough 3D nanofabrication approach that transforms two-photon lithography (TPL) ...
Nanophysics
Dec 18, 2025
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Researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, in collaboration with Huzhou University, discovered that the entanglement workhorse of most quantum optics laboratories can have hidden topologies, reporting ...
Optics & Photonics
Dec 17, 2025
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367
Light undergoes a unique phenomenon called superscattering, an optical illusion where a very small object scatters far more light than expected. This happens when multiple scattering modes overlap and interact, allowing tiny ...
In a study published in Nature Methods on December 2, a research team led by Profs. Xu Tao and Ji Wei from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a three-dimensional interferometric localization ...
Biotechnology
Dec 16, 2025
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41
A new study from a research team at the Center for Wireless Communications Network and Systems (CWC-NS) at the University of Oulu has introduced an approach using near-infrared (NIR) light beyond light therapy to facilitate ...
Optics & Photonics
Dec 15, 2025
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Scientists at the University of Oxford demonstrate an approach to interpreting how materials interact with polarized light, which could help advance biomedical imaging and material design.
Optics & Photonics
Dec 15, 2025
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The microscopic processes taking place in superconductors are difficult to observe directly. Researchers at the RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau have therefore implemented a quantum simulation of the Josephson effect: ...
Superconductivity
Dec 12, 2025
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212
Researchers have developed a precision magnetometer based on a special material that changes optical properties in response to a magnetic field. The device, which is integrated onto a chip, could benefit space missions, navigation ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 11, 2025
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91
Over the past decades, engineers have introduced numerous technologies that rely on light and its underlying characteristics. These include photonic and quantum systems that could advance imaging, communication and information ...
In 2008, a team of UCLA-led scientists proposed a scheme to use a laser to excite the nucleus of thorium atoms to realize extremely accurate, portable clocks. Last year, they realized this longstanding goal by bombarding ...
General Physics
Dec 10, 2025
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