Optics & lasers as a research area encompasses the fundamental and applied study of the generation, propagation, manipulation, and detection of light, with a particular emphasis on coherent and monochromatic radiation from lasers. It includes laser physics (gain media, optical cavities, nonlinear and quantum optical effects), beam shaping and guiding (waveguides, fibers, integrated photonics), optical materials and devices (mirrors, modulators, detectors), and advanced techniques such as ultrafast optics, high-power and high-intensity laser systems, laser spectroscopy, and laser-based metrology. This field underpins technologies in precision measurement, optical communication, imaging, microfabrication, and control of matter with light.
With the rise of quantum computers, the security of our existing communication systems is at risk. Quantum computers will be able to break many of the encryption methods used in current communication systems. To counter this, ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 16, 2025
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A team of physicists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, the Center for New Technologies at the University of Warsaw and Emory University (Atlanta, U.S.) analyzed how atoms' mutual interactions change ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 15, 2025
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Muon beams can now be created in a device that is the length of a ruler.
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered how to "draw" on demand the crystals used in many crucial technologies, from solar panels and LED lighting to medical imaging.
Nanophysics
Oct 14, 2025
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Light is fast, but travels in long wavelengths and interacts weakly with itself. The particles that make up matter are tiny and interact strongly with each other, but move slowly. Together, the two can combine into a hybrid ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 10, 2025
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The bandgap, i.e. the energy gap between the highest lying valence and the lowest lying conduction band, is a defining property of insulating solids, governing how they absorb light and conduct electricity. Tracking how a ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 9, 2025
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Cornell researchers have built a programmable optical chip that can change the color of light by merging photons, without requiring a new chip for new colors.
Optics & Photonics
Oct 8, 2025
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An international team of researchers has developed a novel technique to efficiently excite and control highly-confined light-matter waves, known as higher-order hyperbolic phonon polaritons. Their method not only sets new ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 7, 2025
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Researchers from the University of Arizona, working with an international team, have captured and controlled quantum uncertainty in real time using ultrafast pulses of light. Their discovery, published in the journal Light: ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 6, 2025
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In the era of instant data exchange and growing risks of cyberattacks, scientists are seeking secure methods of transmitting information. One promising solution is quantum cryptography—a quantum technology that uses single ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 2, 2025
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