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Optics & Photonics news
Theoretical framework expands directional light control beyond ordered crystal structures
A research team has developed a new theoretical framework that can suppress light scattering in certain directions while enhancing it in others, even in irregularly arranged materials. The work extends research on controlling ...
Optics & Photonics
6 hours ago
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New contactless method reveals how mirror-image materials respond differently to light
New research introduces a contactless way to see how mirror-image materials respond differently to circularly polarized light, without first building them into a complete electronic device. The researchers developed a novel ...
Condensed Matter
Aug 11, 2026
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X-rays: Beyond the Nobel Prize limit
When certain atoms are irradiated with laser light, they can produce a very different kind of laser light: laser pulses with extremely high frequencies in the X-ray range. These laser pulses, which helped achieve record-breaking ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 11, 2026
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New optical method reveals internal dynamics of elusive Wigner crystals
Researchers at the University of Basel and the Technical University of Munich have developed a new method to reveal the collective motion of electrons in one of the most elusive states of matter: the Wigner crystal. Using ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 11, 2026
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'Lying mirror' uses structured surfaces to conceal optical information
Mirrors normally reveal what is placed in front of them, even when their curvature distorts a reflection. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have introduced a different optical concept: a "lying ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 10, 2026
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'Flying focus' laser overcomes key limitation in plasma-based particle accelerators
In a new Nature Physics study, researchers accelerated electrons to more than twice the energy predicted by the traditional dephasing limit for laser-plasma accelerators operating over the same distance. This was made possible ...
New 'shape-shifting' architecture brings versatility to photonic quantum computing
Using light to process quantum information is one of the most promising approaches to building future quantum computers. Light particles, known as photons, are excellent carriers of quantum information, but their lack of ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 7, 2026
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An elegant modification doubles the range of low-noise 'white lasers' in a single fiber
Supercontinuum light sources—often called "white lasers" because they emit a broad, continuous rainbow of colors—are essential tools for everything from advanced medical imaging to environmental gas detection. However, researchers ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 6, 2026
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Researchers demonstrate first fully solution-processed solid-state polariton laser
Researchers have demonstrated a solid-state organic laser microcavity fabricated entirely by solution processing. The device operates in the strong light–matter coupling regime, where light and matter form hybrid states called ...
Condensed Matter
Aug 6, 2026
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Never-before-seen woven structure that forms naturally inside a crystal discovered
For the first time, scientists have observed a three-dimensional woven structure forming naturally inside a crystal, revealing a previously unknown way in which matter can organize itself.
Condensed Matter
Aug 6, 2026
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Single-shot phase imaging technique can reconstruct transparent objects
A KAIST research team led by professor Mooseok Jang from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has developed a single-shot phase imaging technique that reconstructs a phase object—a transparent object such as glass, ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 6, 2026
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New quantum microscopy trick quadruples microscope resolution
Three years after a team of Caltech scientists showed that pairs of entangled photons could double the resolution of a light microscope, the same lab has figured out a way to double down on that improvement. They have now ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 6, 2026
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Two-qubit entangling gate flags its own errors as detectable photon losses
Quantum errors are a normal part of quantum computing because fragile physical qubits (the tiny components storing data) can easily break down because of environmental noise, like heat, stray signals or microscopic vibrations. ...
Sunlight-powered setup generates quantum entanglement
Today's quantum technologies rely on energy-intensive lasers, raising concerns that scaling them up could further increase energy demands. In new work, researchers have demonstrated that quantum entanglement between photons ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 6, 2026
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Miniaturized laser technology paves the way for fundamental physics experiments in space
An international team of researchers has succeeded in producing atomic quantum gas mixtures with an unprecedented particle flux. In the journal Nature Communications, the scientists report on experiments conducted with the ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 5, 2026
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Attosecond X-ray method maps early electron motions that trigger chemical reactions
All chemistry starts with a push from electrons. In the early moments of a chemical reaction, it's the movement of electrons that initiates the breaking of old chemical bonds and forging of new ones, transforming one molecule ...
General Physics
Aug 5, 2026
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'Spooky' particles transit DC suburbs, a step toward a quantum network
In early 2025, special signals wended their way through a fiber-optic highway strung above the streets and sidewalks of the Maryland suburbs. The arrival of those signals at their destination marks a significant step toward ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 5, 2026
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New semiconductor maser operates continuously above room temperature
Lasers have become indispensable in everyday life and research, with applications ranging from data transmission and metrology to manufacturing. Masers, by contrast, have so far found hardly any practical applications.
Condensed Matter
Aug 5, 2026
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Molecular orbitals imaged in 3D, opening path to femtosecond videos
One of the most famous and intriguing results of quantum mechanics is the finding that fundamental particles, such as electrons, cannot be pinned down to one single location. Instead, a particle is described by its "wavefunction," ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 4, 2026
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Two materials, one photonic chip: Unlocking a new way to generate light frequencies
Modern photonic chips can pack sophisticated optical functions onto devices smaller than a fingernail. They are increasingly used to generate, manipulate and measure light for applications ranging from communications to sensing. ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 4, 2026
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More news
Light controls nanoscale 'bubble' domains in a ferroelectric crystal
New photonic platform offers a four-lane highway for light
One LED produces four stable colors at room temperature
New twist on the Einstein problem reveals unexpected physics
Rare-earth ions could enable telecom-ready control of interacting qubits
Two attosecond flashes capture electrons in motion
Simple semiconductor films break light's front-back symmetry
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