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. Physicists from Emory University have led work to develop a microscopic, nonlinear light source that can be switched on, off or tuned to a particular intensity by an electrical "knob." The paper is published in the journal Optica, and could aid in the design of smaller, more flexible technologies for communications, sensing and quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-electrical-knob-tune-intensity-nanoscale.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 28 May 2026 17:50:01 EDT news699207961 Researchers at Clarkson University are advancing the use of artificial intelligence and computational physics to accelerate discovery of next-generation materials for quantum technologies, optoelectronics, and renewable energy applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-quantum-scale-simulations-ai-uncover.html Nanophysics Tue, 19 May 2026 18:20:01 EDT news698426281 Magnons are tiny waves in magnetization that travel through solid magnetic materials, much like the ripples that spread across a pond when a stone is thrown into it. Unlike photons, which travel through empty space or optical fibers, magnons propagate within a magnetic solid. Their wavelengths can be reduced to the nanometer range, meaning that magnonic circuits could, in principle, fit onto a chip no larger than those found in today's smartphones. Furthermore, as an excitation of a solid, a magnon naturally couples to numerous other fundamental quasi-particles—phonons, photons and others—making it an ideal building block for hybrid quantum systems and quantum metrology. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-magnon-lifetime-100x-paves-mini.html Condensed Matter Mon, 04 May 2026 13:00:03 EDT news697113841 Some innovations in physics come from entirely new technologies, others from fresh theoretical insights. Others still take shape by bringing together existing tools in new ways, working out how to combine them to outperform other solutions. The branch of particle physics that studies weakly interacting particles—such as neutrinos and some types of dark-matter candidates—could use innovative detection approaches: technological challenges in this research area quickly become practical as well as economic, as increases in detector volume and spatial resolution improve the sensitivity to the processes producing the particles of interest. Similarly, demanding targets on instrument capability apply to the calorimeters used in collider experiments. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-neutrinos-caught-camera-prototype-elementary.html General Physics Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:20:01 EDT news696257942 Researchers from the University of Twente and Harvard University have developed a new way to generate ultraviolet (UV) light on a photonic chip at power levels high enough for real-world use. For the first time, the technique produces milliwatt-level UV light on a chip. It is an important step for quantum technology, optical atomic clocks and advanced measurement equipment. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-photonic-chip-generates-milliwatt-uv.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:40:06 EDT news696003542 Superconducting qubits—bits of quantum information—have been widely considered a promising technology for moving quantum computing forward. But there's still much work to be done before they can be brought out of a near absolute zero temperature environment. The lab of Professor Hong Tang has recently published two studies that advance the technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-paths-scalable-quantum-optical-links.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:30:01 EDT news695914322 In quantum technologies, everything depends on the ability to detect the properties carried by a single photon. But in the real world, that photon of interest is often buried in a sea of unwanted light—a true "needle in a haystack" challenge that currently limits the deployment of many applications, including secure quantum communication, quantum sensors used in telescope networks, as well as the interconnection of quantum computers to accelerate the development of new drugs and materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-quantum-needle-haystack-filtering-method.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:20:02 EDT news694087741 Quantum communication systems are emerging solutions to transmit information between devices in a network leveraging quantum mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement. Entanglement is a quantum effect that entails a link between two or more particles that share a unified state even at a distance, so that measuring one instantly affects the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-microwave-quantum-network-resilience-disturbances.html Superconductivity Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:40:02 EDT news692963544 Physicists and chemists at Heidelberg University have realized a photonic microchip that is driven by light just as easily as electronic components via a "plug." Their development could serve as the basis for fast and cost-effective production of photonic integrated systems that are of great importance for implementing innovative computing and communications systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-3d-links-fiber-optics-photonic.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:00:04 EST news691678642 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 Quantum technologies are anticipated to transform computing, communication, and sensing by harnessing the unusual behavior of matter at the atomic scale. Translating quantum's promise into practical devices will require physical systems that have desirable quantum properties and can be easily manufactured. Silicon, the material behind today's computer chips, is highly attractive as a platform because it plays to the strengths of the trillion-dollar semiconductor industry that has already been built. Identifying quantum building blocks—qubits—in silicon is, therefore, an important frontier research area. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-robust-telecom-qubit-silicon.html Condensed Matter Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:00:03 EST news691244281 Researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences have devised a new way to make some of the smallest, smoothest mirrors ever created for controlling single particles of light, known as photons. These mirrors could play key roles in future quantum computers, quantum networks, integrated lasers, environmental sensing equipment, and more. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-microscopic-mirrors-future-quantum-networks.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:27:46 EST news690640021 As quantum computers continue to advance, many of today's encryption systems face the risk of becoming obsolete. A powerful alternative—quantum cryptography—offers security based on the laws of physics instead of computational difficulty. But to turn quantum communication into a practical technology, researchers need compact and reliable devices that can decode fragile quantum states carried by light. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-laserwritten-glass-chip-quantum-communication.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:53:38 EST news689878381 A team of researchers at Queen's University has developed a powerful new kind of computing machine that uses light to take on complex problems such as protein folding (for drug discovery) and number partitioning (for cryptography). Built from off-the-shelf components, it also operates at room temperature and remains remarkably stable while performing billions of operations per second. The research was published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-based-ising-room-temperature-stays.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 07 Feb 2026 13:00:04 EST news689608592 Concerns that quantum computers may start easily hacking into previously secure communications has motivated researchers to work on innovative new ways to encrypt information. One such method is quantum key distribution (QKD), a secure, quantum-based method in which eavesdropping attempts disrupt the quantum state, making unauthorized interception immediately detectable. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-quantum-encryption-method-city-sized.html Quantum Physics Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:40:02 EST news689600983 Quantum technologies, devices and systems that process, store, detect, or transfer information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential to outperform classical technologies in a variety of tasks. An ongoing quest within quantum engineering is the realization of a so-called quantum internet: a network conceptually analogous to today's internet, in which distant nodes are linked through shared quantum resources, most notably quantum entanglement. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ultra-thin-metasurface-generate-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 03 Feb 2026 07:50:05 EST news689252662 A team of researchers from the University of Stuttgart and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg led by Prof. Stefanie Barz (University of Stuttgart) has demonstrated a source of single photons that combines on-demand operation with record-high photon quality in the telecommunications C-band—a key step toward scalable photonic quantum computation and quantum communication. "The lack of a high-quality on-demand C-band photon source has been a major problem in quantum optics laboratories for over a decade—our new technology now removes this obstacle," says Prof. Stefanie Barz. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-photons-telecom-wavelengths-demand.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 30 Jan 2026 13:59:49 EST news689003942 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 Researchers have designed a new device that can efficiently create multiple frequency-entangled photons, a feat that cannot be achieved with today's optical devices. The new approach could open a path to more powerful quantum communication and computing technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-quantum-dot-device-generate-multiple.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:15:27 EST news687521701 Quantum technologies are highly promising devices that process, transfer or store information leveraging quantum mechanical effects. Instead of relying on bits, like classical computers, quantum devices rely on entangled qubits, units of information that can also exist in multiple states (0 and 1) at once. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scientists-qubit-quantum-register-silicon.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:20:01 EST news687517722 Light can be sculpted into countless shapes. Yet building optical devices that can simultaneously manipulate many different optical patterns at once is extremely complicated, and remains a major challenge in modern photonics. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-configuring-optical-devices-automatically.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:13:27 EST news687100382 Any time you use a device to communicate information—an email, a text message, any data transfer—the information in that transmission crosses the open internet, where it could be intercepted. Such communications are also reliant on internet connectivity, often including wireless signal on either or both ends of a transmission. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-quantum-entanglement-drones-disaster-relief.html Quantum Physics Sat, 20 Dec 2025 12:10:01 EST news685368198 Over the past decades, engineers have introduced numerous technologies that rely on light and its underlying characteristics. These include photonic and quantum systems that could advance imaging, communication and information processing. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-optical-modulation-silicon-electron-avalanche.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 11 Dec 2025 08:40:01 EST news684579966 For decades, physicists have dreamed of a quantum internet: a planetary web of ultrasecure communications and super-powered computation built not from electrical signals, but from the ghostly connections between particles of light. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-bought-cable-power-quantum-networks.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 26 Nov 2025 11:30:03 EST news683378843 There are few technologies more fundamental to modern life than the ability to control light with precision. From fiber-optic communications to quantum sensors, the manipulation of photons underpins much of our digital infrastructure. Yet one capability has remained frustratingly out of reach: controlling light with light itself at the most fundamental level using single photons to switch or modulate powerful optical beams. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-photon-enable-photonic.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:03:03 EST news682941747 Over the past several decades, researchers have been making rapid progress in harnessing light to enable all sorts of scientific and industrial applications. From creating stupendously accurate clocks to processing the petabytes of information zipping through data centers, the demand for turnkey technologies that can reliably generate and manipulate light has become a global market worth hundreds of billions of dollars. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-photonic-chips-passively-laser-multiple.html Optics & Photonics Sun, 16 Nov 2025 06:27:57 EST news682496861 Quantum computers are powerful, lightning-fast and notoriously difficult to connect to one another over long distances. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-breakthrough-quantum-200x-distance.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:21:08 EST news681661262 Scientists have long sought to make semiconductors—vital components in computer chips and solar cells—that are also superconducting, thereby enhancing their speed and energy efficiency and enabling new quantum technologies. However, achieving superconductivity in semiconductor materials such as silicon and germanium has proved challenging due to difficulty in maintaining an optimal atomic structure with the desired conduction behavior. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-scientists-semiconductor-superconducting.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 Oct 2025 06:00:08 EDT news680887201 The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has created unprecedented demand for data traffic. But the infrastructure needed to support it faces mounting challenges. AI data centers must deliver faster, more reliable communication than ever before, while also confronting their soaring electricity use and a looming quantum security threat, which could one day break today's encryption methods. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-optical-terabit-capacity-quantum-cryptography.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:22:03 EDT news680188921 A new twist on a classic material could advance quantum computing and make modern data centers more energy efficient, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-school-material-power-quantum-center.html Condensed Matter Thu, 16 Oct 2025 16:30:04 EDT news679851002