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. 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 can be generated directly from sunlight, offering a potential alternative. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sunlight-powered-setup-generates-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:00:04 EDT news705152641 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 a long-held dream of building a "quantum network." Researchers believe that this emerging technology could someday link quantum devices in ways that supercharge scientific research, enable ultrasecure communications and boost the power of future quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spooky-particles-transit-dc-suburbs.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:30:01 EDT news705164821 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 Quantum technologies are devices and systems that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics and could perform tasks that are difficult or impossible to tackle using their classical counterparts. These technologies process and store information using qubits (i.e., quantum bits), which can exist in a superposition of multiple states simultaneously. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-earth-ions-enable-telecom.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:20:03 EDT news704367590 Photonic microchips can process data at extremely high speeds and are embedded in a wide variety of today's technologies. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and Harvard University have now succeeded in developing three functional components for such chips that are up to 500 times smaller than conventional designs. The researchers used inverse design, a computer algorithm, to achieve this. The results are published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-algorithms-foundry-ready-photonic-circuits.html Nanophysics Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:40:08 EDT news704113562 Sending quantum information through a chain of qubits, like energy through a Newton's cradle, could be the key to faster operations and take quantum computing to the next level. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-newton-cradle.html Quantum Physics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:20:03 EDT news704030016 Quantum information is notoriously fragile. Internet traffic is anything but. Yet Northwestern University scientists have demonstrated they can peacefully coexist inside the same fiber-optic cable. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-internet-lab-real-world.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:40:01 EDT news703948921 Quantum networks, systems consisting of multiple connected nodes or devices that can transmit quantum information to one another, have the potential to advance future communications. These networks typically leverage entanglement, a quantum phenomenon that prompts two or more distant particles to become highly correlated, so that measuring one instantly affects the state of the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-multiplexing-scheme-distance-quantum-communication.html Quantum Physics Wed, 22 Jul 2026 06:20:01 EDT news703772263 Researchers have developed a new type of optical fiber by freezing a glass capillary filled with liquid. It guides light and sound waves simultaneously and enables highly efficient coupling between them. The high coupling strength lowers the energy consumption of photonic neuromorphic computing schemes and quantum signal processing applications by several orders of magnitude. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-frozen-fiber-couples-strongly-standard.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:00:03 EDT news703854301 Quantum technologies, which leverage the principles of quantum mechanics, have been found to outperform their classical counterparts on specific tasks. Among other things, past studies have highlighted the potential of quantum systems that can enable long-distance communication, using photons (i.e., particles of light) to carry quantum information. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-teleportation-photon-loss-distance.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:40:07 EDT news703332685 Researchers at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin have developed a new method for trapping and controlling atoms near an ultrathin glass fiber. This has significantly improved the atoms' ability to store quantum information—an important step forward for future quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-atomic-boosts-quantum-surface.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:00:07 EDT news703250168 Future quantum computing will require correlations between distant modules—a feature known as distributed entanglement. Traditionally, such entanglement has relied on active control and repeated measurements. Now, physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have realized a fully autonomous method for distributed entanglement using a "quantum bath" of correlated light particles. Published in Physical Review X, their work experimentally confirms a 20-year-old prediction and could provide a new platform for applied quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physicists-year-theory-boost-quantum.html Quantum Physics Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:40:04 EDT news703233448 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 Quantum physics may sound abstract, but Ph.D. candidates Kirsten Kanneworff and David Dechant show that quantum research can also be very concrete. Together, they are investigating how quantum technology can change the world. While Kanneworff worked in the lab to study how quantum optics can be used to prove someone's location, Dechant focused on quantum computing for dynamic systems, such as the financial world. The two researchers are defending their doctoral theses this week. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-quantum-ways-simulating-financial.html Quantum Physics Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:20:01 EST news690202054 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