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 Kanazawa University, in collaboration with Diamond and Carbon Applications (Germany), have developed a buried-growth process for nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centers in diamond using microwave plasma chemical vapor ...
Plasma Physics
Jun 9, 2026
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Assistant Professor Haocun Yu is something of a scientific diplomat. In a recent Physical Review Letters publication, she and her colleagues show how a tabletop experiment can bring together two bedrock physics theories that ...
General Physics
Jun 8, 2026
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A material may appear flawless on the surface yet fail to function properly. The cause lies in structural defects hidden within two-dimensional thin films, which are considered key materials for next-generation semiconductor ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 7, 2026
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Blurry light from lens imperfections is a problem everywhere, from microscopes to telescopes to smartphone cameras. Using a tiny yet carefully engineered optical element and artificial intelligence, University of California ...
Nanophysics
Jun 4, 2026
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Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics describing many-body interactions, have proved promising for the development of various advanced technologies. Many of these ...
Southwest Research Institute, or SwRI, is studying impact flashes generated by high-speed collisions. One application of understanding impact flashes is to remotely identify what materials are involved in the collisions. ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 3, 2026
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In nature, there exist structures that are mirror images of each other but cannot be perfectly superimposed. These are known as chiral objects, derived from the Greek word for "hand," since left and right hands share the ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 2, 2026
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30
A research collaboration has developed a novel fluorescent nanosensor capable of rapidly detecting indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), an emerging biomarker linked to gut health and disease. The breakthrough is described in the ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 2, 2026
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7
A research team from HKU Engineering has pioneered a fundamentally new imaging strategy known as AIMED (Arbitrary illumination microscopy with encoded depth), which utilizes a sub-sampling approach. By integrating innovations ...
Optics & Photonics
May 30, 2026
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A research group led by Assistant Professor Takafumi Tomita and Professor Kenji Ohmori at the Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, has developed a new microscopy technique called the Atom ...
Optics & Photonics
May 29, 2026
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