https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Many natural processes, ranging from magnetism to chemical reactions, entail the movement and rotation of particles at very small scales. In quantum mechanics, particles exhibit both particle-like and wave-like behaviors, and their states can be described mathematically using representations known as wavefunctions. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-electron-gain-ultrafast-torque-flips.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:00:01 EDT news700225602 Researchers from Monash University have developed a breakthrough nanoscale circuit that can generate, direct, and read light-based information, all on a single chip. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-chip-circuit-power-generation.html Nanophysics Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:02 EDT news698662142 The task of gently transporting a microscopic particle from one point to another along a winding path, and then bringing it back using nothing more than a single, compact chip is a challenge we set out to address in our new study, now published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-optical-metaconveyors-enable-programmable-nanomanipulation.html Nanophysics Wed, 13 May 2026 18:00:02 EDT news697800686 Using a new technique that can create vacancies at any site across a material and then shrink it to about 1/2,000 of its original volume, MIT researchers have designed nanotechnology devices that could be used for optical computing and other applications involving the manipulation of visible light. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-implosion-3d-photonic-devices-visible.html Nanophysics Tue, 12 May 2026 10:40:08 EDT news697796401 A two-dimensional lamellar crystal composed of atomically thin layers of lead iodide (PbI2) could be used to manufacture a new generation of circuits that use light and mechanical vibrations (rather than electrons) to transmit information in the terahertz frequency range. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-inexpensive-material-compresses-paving-photonic.html Condensed Matter Tue, 05 May 2026 15:50:01 EDT news697212182 Reaching the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, would take hundreds of thousands of years using current rocket propulsion technology. Researchers in the J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University have demonstrated a new approach to light-driven motion, showing that lasers can be used to lift and steer objects in multiple directions without physical contact. This breakthrough may one day enable travel to Alpha Centauri within roughly 20 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-powered-propulsion-space-exploration-possibilities.html Space Exploration Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:20:09 EDT news696076861 A joint research team led by Professor Park Kyoung-Duck and Associate Director Suh Yung Doug of the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has succeeded in realizing a high-efficiency quantum light source that emits bright lights even at room temperature. The study is published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bright-quantum-emission-room-temperature.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:00:01 EDT news695395962 Researchers from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy have flipped a long-held assumption in optics, showing that deliberately introducing controlled disorder into ultra-thin optical devices can dramatically increase their power and versatility, without making them bigger or more complex. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-scientists-mess-breakthrough-chaotic-generation.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:40:03 EDT news695041098 Caltech scientists have developed a new way to produce optical frequency combs—important tools in devices that keep time and measure distances very precisely—at the chip scale, an advance that should make it easier to incorporate such combs in optical devices and more practical to use them outside the laboratory. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-topological-solitons-power-chip-scale.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:30:04 EDT news693676681 The controlled generation of single photons is an essential element of numerous quantum technology applications, such as quantum networks and quantum computing. A research team has now demonstrated the successful application of the new SUPER (Swing-UP of the quantum EmitteR population) method. The approach facilitates the controlled generation of light particles (photons). Results of the study were recently published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ultrafast-laser-pulses-diamond-based.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:40:05 EDT news692966881 A team of US researchers has gained new insights into how large protein molecules consistently fold themselves into useful shapes. Using a new approach to fluorescence microscopy, Hoi Sung Chung and colleagues at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases have shown that the process likely occurs through the coordinated folding of many different parts of each biomolecule. Their results are published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-fluorescence-technique-illuminates-rapid-protein.html Biotechnology Sat, 14 Mar 2026 09:00:01 EDT news692617118 Photonic chips use light to process data instead of electricity, enabling faster communication speeds and greater bandwidth. Most of that light typically stays on the chip, trapped in optical wires, and is difficult to transmit to the outside world in an efficient manner. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-photonic-efficiently-free-space.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:50:01 EDT news692458354 Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. These devices use radiation pressure—the force exerted when light reflects from a surface—to generate thrust. When driven by a powerful laser, a light sail can accelerate continuously without onboard propellant, enabling faster travel across the solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-laser-driven-photonic-crystals.html Nanophysics Thu, 05 Mar 2026 18:00:02 EST news691947841 In recent years, van der Waals crystals have evolved from scientific curiosities into a versatile platform for exploring novel quantum phases and unconventional nanophotonic phenomena. Their layered nature allows stacking, twisting and interfacing with a remarkable atomic precision, enabling previously inaccessible electronic, optoelectronic and photonic functionalities at the nanoscale. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hyperbolic-plane-anisotropy-optical-chirality.html Nanophysics Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:50:03 EST news691780501 Quantum technologies, computers or other devices that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, rely on the precise control of light and matter. Over the past decades, quantum physicists and material scientists have been trying to identify systems that can reliably generate photons (i.e., light particles) and could thus be used to create quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-heavier-hydrogen-silicon-centers-brighter.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 28 Feb 2026 12:30:01 EST news691408412 Smartphone cameras are becoming smaller, yet photos are becoming sharper. Korean researchers have elevated the limits of next-generation smartphone cameras by developing a new image sensor technology that can accurately represent colors regardless of the angle at which light enters. The team achieved this by utilizing a "metamaterial" that designs the movement of light through structures too small to be seen with the naked eye. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-metamaterial-image-sensor-oblique.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 21 Feb 2026 16:00:01 EST news690731362 When light passes through materials, it typically changes direction and bends in predictable ways. This change in direction, known as refraction, is caused by a change in the speed of light as it enters a new medium. In some rare cases, however, light bends differently, specifically in the opposite direction, and this is known as negative refraction. This unusual change in direction can be leveraged to develop a wide range of advanced technologies, including advanced imaging systems and small optical devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-nanoengineers-chip-excitonic-hyperlens.html Nanophysics Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:30:02 EST news690456579 Quantum computing represents a potential breakthrough technology that could far surpass the technical limitations of modern-day computing systems for some tasks. However, putting together practical, large-scale quantum computers remains challenging, particularly because of the complex and delicate techniques involved. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-wavelengths-approach-circuit-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:40:36 EST news688750801 Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered that atomic-scale substitutional dopants in ultra-thin two-dimensional (2D) materials can act as stable quantum systems operating at terahertz (THz) frequencies. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-dimensional-materials-options-generation-terahertz.html Nanophysics Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:46:30 EST news688221961 Stanford researchers have developed a flexible material that can quickly change its surface texture and colors, offering potential applications in camouflage, art, robotics, and even nanoscale bioengineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-flexible-material-mimics-octopus-skin.html Nanophysics Wed, 07 Jan 2026 14:20:04 EST news687017423 A team of researchers at Penn State have devised a new, streamlined approach to designing metasurfaces, a class of engineered materials that can manipulate light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation with just their structures. This rapid optimization process could help manufacture advanced optical systems like camera lenses, virtual reality headsets, holographic imagers and more, the team said. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ai-approach-optical-months-milliseconds.html Nanophysics Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:38:34 EST news686839081 Researchers from CIC nanoGUNE, in collaboration with the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and the Center for Materials Physics (CFM), have experimentally observed and theoretically verified flat-band ultrastrong coupling between optical phonons and surface plasmon polaritons. Published in Nature Materials, the study reveals a previously unexplored regime of light–matter interaction with potential applications in polariton-driven chemistry, materials science, nanophotonics, and quantum engineering. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-flat-band-ultrastrong-coupling-phonons.html Nanophysics Thu, 18 Dec 2025 11:40:01 EST news685278560 An international research team reports the discovery of "hidden order" in systems that are disordered in space and time. The paper is published in the journal Nature Materials. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-chaos-emergence-photon-swirling-disordered.html Nanophysics Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:03:22 EST news685033381 Researchers from the Physical Chemistry and Theory departments at the Fritz Haber Institute have found a new way to image layers of boron nitride that are only a single atom thick. This material is usually nearly invisible in optical microscopes because it has no optical resonances. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-sum-frequency-microscope-image-invisible.html Nanophysics Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:09:06 EST news684425317 Inspired by the Japanese art of kirigami, a team of scientists from the University of Amsterdam have developed a material that can reflect different colors of light, depending on how it is stretched. The results were recently published in the journal ACS Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-chameleon-nanomaterial-mechanical-strain.html Nanophysics Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:43:40 EST news684157381 In January, a team led by Jim Schuck, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia Engineering, developed a method for creating entangled photon pairs, a critical component of emerging quantum technologies, using a crystalline device just 3.4 micrometers thick. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-metasurfaces-etched-2d-crystals-boost.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 22 Nov 2025 05:50:01 EST news683012764 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 and accessible tool for medical diagnostics and imaging. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-birch-peanuts-advanced-laser-technology.html Nanophysics Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:51:03 EST news681389461 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 that quantum emitters spaced at subwavelength distances can constructively synchronize their photon emission to produce a bright, very narrow-band light beam, even in the absence of any optical cavity. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mirrorless-laser-physicists-source.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:27:03 EDT news680862422 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 records for the quality and propagation distance of these waves but also uses a sharp boundary to create a form of pseudo-birefringence, sorting and steering the waves by mode into different directions. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-exotic-nanolight.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:09:04 EDT news679057741 From computer chips to quantum dots—technological platforms were only made possible thanks to a detailed understanding of the used solid-state materials, such as silicon or more complex semiconductor materials. This understanding also includes being able to identify and control irregularities in the crystal lattice of such materials. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-physicists-quantum-sensor-atomic-lattice.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 07 Oct 2025 10:12:19 EDT news679050735