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. 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 have historically faced a frustrating trade-off: A broad spectrum comes at the expense of high fluctuations, which has effectively limited their use. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-elegant-modification-range-noise-white.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:00:03 EDT news705252541 For most theories in physics, the order of operations has little impact on the result. When setting a dial to a certain position, for example, it doesn't matter whether it's turned clockwise or counterclockwise—the result will always be the same. Yet for non-Abelian gauge theories, order does matter. These theories underpin the Standard Model, but to test their more subtle predictions, researchers have so far relied on enormous particle accelerators. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-complex-field-physics-tabletop-photonic.html General Physics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:20:04 EDT news704539586 Integrated photonic devices—tiny circuits that use light instead of electrons—are becoming increasingly important for scalable photonics technologies and high-bandwidth communications. They are particularly valuable for managing low-power, light-based data transfer inside data centers, which are needed for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and high-performance signal processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-highly-tunable-electro-optic-isolator.html Condensed Matter Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704371862 An extremely fast microscopy method to research the interaction of light and matter makes it possible to study optical processes on very short timescales. To this end, a German–Italian research team is combining holographic imaging with ultrafast spectroscopy in an innovative way. In this manner, even extremely short-lived electronic and magnetic phenomena—which play a major role in the development and application of novel energy materials—can be observed. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ultrafast-holographic-imaging-reveals-electron.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 28 May 2026 19:10:02 EDT news699206941 Liquid crystals are an integral part of modern technology, ranging from displays to advanced sensory systems. In a study published in Scientific Reports, researchers from the Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (IEP SAS) in Košice, in collaboration with international partners, have demonstrated how minute changes in material composition can achieve precise control over behavior in electric and magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-threshold-enables-tunable-liquid.html Soft Matter Fri, 15 May 2026 15:00:04 EDT news698072581 Researchers led by Dr. Changmin Ahn and Prof. Jungwon Kim at KAIST, in collaboration with Prof. Hansuek Lee, have demonstrated a chip-scale photonic approach for generating ultralow-noise and highly stable microwave and millimeter-wave signals based on optical frequency combs (microcombs), offering a potential pathway toward compact, high-performance frequency sources for next-generation technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chip-scale-photonic-approach-ultralow.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 11 May 2026 20:40:03 EDT news697739041 Researchers at Skoltech have developed an ultra-compact electro-optic modulator based on silicon photonics and plasmonics that enables high-efficiency optical signal control within a small device footprint. The development could find applications in optical communication systems, analog-to-digital conversion, as well as in devices for generating and processing ultra-high-frequency signals based on photonic technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-team-modulator-compact-photonic-circuits.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:20:03 EDT news696611379 Optical frequency combs—laser sources that emit evenly spaced colors of light—are foundational, ubiquitous tools for precision measurement, found in optical clocks, gas-sensing spectrometers, and instruments that detect the light signatures of exoplanets. Traditionally, frequency combs are produced by large, fiber-laser systems ranging from the size of a shoebox to a refrigerator. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-roadmap.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:50:01 EDT news692898001 Applied physicists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have discovered a new way to generate ultra-precise, evenly spaced "combs" of laser light on a photonic chip, a breakthrough that could miniaturize optical platforms like spectroscopic sensors or communication systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-chip-scale-microcomb-lithium-niobate.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:20:06 EST news690736247 Forecasting earthquakes presents a serious challenge on land, but in the oceans that cover around 70% of Earth's surface it is all but impossible. However, the vast network of undersea cables that crisscross the world's seas could soon change this. As well as transmitting data around the planet, they can also monitor the tectonic movements that cause earthquakes and tsunamis. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-million-km-undersea-internet-cables.html Earth Sciences Tue, 17 Feb 2026 19:20:02 EST news690546568 Imagine a "smart fluid" whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study published in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of "smart fluids" called nematic liquid crystal microcolloids, allowing for reconfigurable self-assembly of micrometer-sized particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal host. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-smart-fluid-reconfigured-temperature.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:20:23 EST news690553201 Researchers at DTU have developed a nanolaser that could be the key to much faster and much more energy-efficient computers, phones, and data centers. The technology offers the prospect of thousands of the new lasers being placed on a single microchip, thus opening a digital future where data is no longer transmitted using electrical signals, but using light particles, photons. The invention has been published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-nanolaser-chip-energy.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:05:33 EST news690131101 A research team led by Prof. Zhang Tianshu from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a low-stress electro-optic switch based on large-aperture β-barium borate (BBO) slab crystals and integrated it into an Nd:YAG hybrid-cavity Innoslab laser system. Their study, published in Optics Express on January 13, addresses long-standing challenges in high-energy laser systems, particularly those related to switching modulation consistency and operational stability. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-stable-high-energy-pulses-stress.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:21:08 EST news689869201 Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (NINS, Japan) and SOKENDAI have demonstrated a more than 2000% voltage-induced enhancement of near-field nonlinear optical responses. To achieve this giant modulation, they focused on an angstrom-scale gap formed between a metallic tip and substrate in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), which can strongly confine and enhance light intensity through plasmon excitation. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-angstrom-scale-plasmonic-gap-boosts.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 03 Feb 2026 04:18:21 EST news689314627 In a recent study, researchers from China have developed a chip-scale LiDAR system that mimics the human eye's foveation by dynamically concentrating high-resolution sensing on regions of interest (ROIs) while maintaining broad awareness across the full field of view. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-bionic-lidar-retinal-resolution-focusing.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 21 Jan 2026 07:30:03 EST news688146130 In a study published in Nature Methods on December 2, a research team led by Profs. Xu Tao and Ji Wei from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a three-dimensional interferometric localization microscope called repetitive optical selective exposure in 3D (ROSE-3D), achieving camera-based isotropic nanoscale resolution in 3D. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-rose-3d-advances-isotropic-super.html Biotechnology Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:00:01 EST news685108331 The knots in your shoelaces are familiar, but can you imagine knots made from light, water, or from the structured fluids that make LCD screens shine? https://phys.org/news/2025-12-scientists-stable-switchable-vortex-liquid.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:00:04 EST news685036206 Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-tiny-optical-modulator-enable-giant.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:46:37 EST news684693961 Researchers from TU Delft and Radboud University (The Netherlands) have discovered that the two-dimensional ferroelectric material CuInP₂S₆ (CIPS) can be used to control the pathway and properties of blue and ultraviolet light like no other material can. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-material-blue-ultraviolet-advanced-chipmaking.html Condensed Matter Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:50:02 EST news684517303 In a discovery shaped by more than a decade of steady, incremental effort rather than a dramatic breakthrough, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and their collaborators demonstrated that great ideas flourish when paired with patience. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-decade-lanthanide-nanocrystals-illuminate-possibilities.html Nanomaterials Thu, 20 Nov 2025 11:05:04 EST news682859101 In the last decade, armed drones have become one of the most visible symbols of modern warfare. Once the preserve of advanced militaries, armed drones are now widely available on the global arms market. Countries such as Turkey, China and Iran are producing lower-cost models and exporting them. In Sudan's ongoing war, which began in 2023, drones have been used by the two major warring parties to gain ground—but have caused massive civilian casualties in the process. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-africa-drone-wars-rarely-victory.html Political science Tue, 11 Nov 2025 01:10:01 EST news682007552 At 4 degrees Kelvin, most electro-optic materials falter. Nanoelectronics R&D center imec has now successfully engineered thin-film strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) that delivers record electro-optic performance with low optical loss, pointing to shorter, faster building blocks for quantum devices. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-thin-strontium-titanate-electro-optic.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:20:04 EST news681477601 LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are essential components in near-eye displays like virtual reality and augmented reality headsets and smart glasses, along with electronics like cameras and medical equipment. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-ac-dc-nano-vr-headsets.html Nanophysics Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:00:01 EST news681397021 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 lasers, amplifiers, modulators, and sensors to the study of topics including quantum optics, nonlinear system dynamics, as well as light-matter interactions. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-team-photonics-advances-free-electron.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 31 Oct 2025 12:22:09 EDT news681132123 Superconductivity and quantum computing are two fields that have seeped from theoretical circles into popular consciousness. The 2025 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for work in superconducting quantum circuits that could drive ultra-powerful computers. But what may be less well known is that these promising technologies are often possible only at cryogenic temperatures—near absolute zero. Unfortunately, few materials can handle such extremes. Their cherished physical properties disappear when the chill is on. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-common-crystal-ideal-temperature-technology.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Oct 2025 17:14:03 EDT news680458441 For the first time, a team at BESSY II has succeeded in demonstrating the one-dimensional electronic properties of a material through a highly refined experimental process. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-phosphorus-chains-display-true-1d.html Nanophysics Tue, 21 Oct 2025 16:03:50 EDT news680281424 Researchers at University of Tsukuba have successfully measured electric fields near the surfaces of two-dimensional layered materials with femtosecond temporal and nanometer spatial resolution. They employed a diamond containing a nitrogen-vacancy center—a lattice defect—as a probe within an atomic force microscope, enabling atomic-scale spatial precision. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-diamond-probe-ultrafast-electric-fields.html Condensed Matter Mon, 20 Oct 2025 11:21:03 EDT news680178061 Metasurfaces are two-dimensional (2D), nanoengineered surfaces that interact strongly with electromagnetic waves and can control light with remarkable precision. These ultra-thin layers can be used to develop a wide range of advanced technologies, including optical photonic, sensing and communication systems. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-hybrid-metasurface-modulates-voltages-energy.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 20 Oct 2025 06:30:01 EDT news679928445 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 The bandgap, i.e. the energy gap between the highest lying valence and the lowest lying conduction band, is a defining property of insulating solids, governing how they absorb light and conduct electricity. Tracking how a bandgap changes under strong laser excitation has been a long-standing challenge, since the underlying processes unfold on femtosecond timescales and are difficult to track directly, especially for wide-bandgap dielectrics. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ultrafast-laser-pulses-reveal-solid.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 09 Oct 2025 11:40:03 EDT news679228802