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.
Scientists can learn a lot about a quantum material by watching how it responds to light. In magnetic semiconductors, one especially useful messenger is the exciton: a pairing of a negatively charged electron and the positively ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 18, 2026
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A public-private partnership in the Mountain West announced new results today that mark steady progress toward the Department of Energy's goal of fault-tolerant quantum computing, systems large and reliable enough to solve ...
Quantum Physics
Jun 17, 2026
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Researchers around the world are racing to develop new quantum-based systems for sensing, communication, computing and control that have the promise of outperforming traditional systems. Creating stable, measurable, distinguishable ...
Quantum Physics
Jun 15, 2026
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What would it take to instantly transform a material from an electrical insulator into a conductive state without ever touching it? Using ultrafast laser pulses and powerful X-rays, scientists at the National Synchrotron ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 15, 2026
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If we're to reach another star, chemical propulsion will not get us there in any reasonable time frame. We're going to need a different propulsion technology, and one of the most promising seems to be a solar sail. These ...
Space Exploration
Jun 14, 2026
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Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and CNSI (California NanoSystems Institute), led by Professor Aydogan Ozcan, introduced a snapshot 3D image projection system that integrates a digital encoder with a ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 14, 2026
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Two independent research teams have achieved a longstanding goal in physics: building a working nuclear clock. The devices, developed by Beichen Huang and colleagues at Tsinghua University and by Luca Toscani De Col and colleagues ...
GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are promising for displays, sensing and optical communication, but improving efficiency remains challenging. Researchers have now shown that "cavity tuning," which ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 11, 2026
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A research team in Bochum, Germany has unexpectedly found that light can slow down movements in the nanoworld. This is due to quantum friction, a phenomenon that has been poorly understood until now. The findings are published ...
Nanophysics
Jun 11, 2026
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In a quest to build the most accurate quantum sensors in the world, scientists are constantly improving their performance, making them more precise, more stable and more reliable. But eventually, physical constraints will ...
Quantum Physics
Jun 11, 2026
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