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.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have realized particularly stable quantum logical operations with qubits made of neutral atoms. Since these operations, called quantum gates, are based on geometric phases, they are extremely robust ...
Quantum Physics
Apr 8, 2026
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Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have reported important progress in quantum physics and materials science by optically initializing, controlling, and reading out nuclear spin states in a molecular ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 8, 2026
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Lasers could one day steer solar sails and adjust a satellite's position in outer space, thanks to graphene. An experiment on a gravity rollercoaster ride showed how this innovative material has the potential to revolutionize ...
Space Exploration
Apr 7, 2026
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Just as embroiderers, with needle and thread, can transform plain fabric into an intricate pattern, engineers can use lasers and polymers to create flexible, complex structures that could transform life-saving sensing technology. ...
Nanophysics
Apr 6, 2026
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Quantum mechanics tells us that a particle can never be perfectly still. But how precisely can it be oriented? A research team at the University of Vienna, together with colleagues at TU Wien and Ulm University, has now cooled ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 6, 2026
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Quantum mechanics is extremely successful at describing the behavior of matter at the atomic level. This success forces one to accept that certain aspects of physical reality go far beyond our intuition. Among these, none ...
Quantum Physics
Apr 2, 2026
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Most laser sources produce Gaussian beams that diverge as they propagate. This natural spreading limits their effectiveness in applications that require light to remain concentrated over long distances. To overcome this challenge, ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 2, 2026
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Researchers at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology have, for the first time, measured the temporal duration of individual pulses of an extraordinary form of quantum light known as bright squeezed vacuum (BSV). Their ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 1, 2026
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Using high-intensity lasers, researchers have taken an important step toward miniaturization of particle accelerators by demonstrating free-electron laser amplification at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths (27–50 nm), with ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 1, 2026
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Light can carry angular momentum in two distinct ways. One comes from polarization, which describes how the electric field rotates. The other comes from the shape of the wavefront itself, which can twist like a corkscrew ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 31, 2026
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