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.
In the world of optics, tiny structures called microcavities—often no wider than a human hair—play a crucial role in technologies ranging from lasers to sensors.
Optics & Photonics
Nov 6, 2025
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Researchers have been developing computers that deploy light (photons) rather than electricity to power storage and calculations. These light-based computers have the potential to be more energy efficient than traditional ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 6, 2025
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Lasers that emit extremely short light pulses are highly precise and are used in manufacturing, medical applications, and research. The problem: efficient short-pulse lasers require a lot of space and are expensive.
Optics & Photonics
Nov 6, 2025
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A team of researchers from the Max Born Institute (MBI) in Berlin and DESY in Hamburg has demonstrated a plasma lens capable of focusing attosecond pulses. This breakthrough substantially increases the attosecond power available ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 5, 2025
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174
Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GM-APDs) are highly sensitive light detectors, capable of detecting single photons. Photons of certain wavelengths, when absorbed by photodiodes, generate electron-hole pairs in a process ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 4, 2025
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Physicists at Umeå University, in collaboration with researchers in China, have developed a laser made entirely from biomaterials—birch leaves and peanut kernels. The environmentally friendly laser could become an inexpensive ...
Nanophysics
Nov 3, 2025
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89
Nonlinear optical dynamics—intensity-dependent response of light upon interaction with materials under high-intensity light sources—are of huge significance in modern photonics, finding applications in fields ranging from ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 31, 2025
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Using ultra-fast laser beams, a team from the Irradiated Solids Laboratory has designed an experiment that allows both the creation of nanometric cavities in metal films and their study using several advanced microscopy techniques. ...
Nanophysics
Oct 29, 2025
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63
Halide perovskites—already a focus of major research into efficient, low-cost solar cells—have been shown to handle light faster than most semiconductors on the market.
Nanophysics
Oct 29, 2025
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76
A team of physicists from the University of Innsbruck and Harvard University has proposed a fundamentally new way to generate laser light: a laser without mirrors. Their study, published in Physical Review Letters, shows ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 28, 2025
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