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.
Over the past few decades, some physicists worldwide have been investigating unusual particle-like magnetic structures known as topological solitons. These structures could potentially be leveraged to develop new cutting-edge ...
Researchers have developed, for the first time in the world, incoherent dielectric tensor tomography (iDTT), a technology that can read complex three-dimensional optical fingerprints inside materials using only everyday LED ...
Optics & Photonics
May 7, 2026
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47
A two-dimensional lamellar crystal composed of atomically thin layers of lead iodide (PbI2) could be used to manufacture a new generation of circuits that use light and mechanical vibrations (rather than electrons) to transmit ...
Condensed Matter
May 5, 2026
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77
To capture a crisp image of a hummingbird in flight, which can flap its wings up to 200 times per second, a photographer needs a camera with an extremely fast shutter speed. But what if your target is smaller than a single ...
Nanophysics
May 4, 2026
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187
Symmetry is one of the most fundamental principles in nature. It describes the rules that make an object look unchanged after a rotation, reflection, or other transformations. In materials, symmetry governs how atoms and ...
Condensed Matter
May 4, 2026
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127
Using a powerful single-molecule imaging method they developed, a Broad Institute research team has unveiled a dynamic view of how some cancer-related proteins interact in living cells. The technique relies on highly stable ...
Bio & Medicine
May 4, 2026
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15
Millions of people watched the historic launch of Artemis II and were captivated by the mission's 10-day journey around the moon as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space ...
Space Exploration
May 1, 2026
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90
Conventional spontaneous Raman spectroscopy of interfacial molecules typically requires plasmonic or electronic enhancement, limiting accessible systems. A nonlinear coherent Raman method now enables direct, high sensitivity ...
Nanomaterials
Apr 30, 2026
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11
Spintronic devices enable data processing with significantly lower energy consumption. They are based on the interaction between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers. Now, a team from Freie Universität Berlin, HZB and ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 29, 2026
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10
Anyone who has ever used a microscope knows that it takes time to bring a sample into sharp focus. Each time you move the slide, the image blurs, and you have to stop and carefully turn a knob to bring everything back into ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 28, 2026
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