Experimental probe of a complete 3-D photonic band gap

A crystal with a 3-D photonic band gap is a powerful tool to control light, with applications for new types of solar cells, sensors and miniature lasers. Inside a man-made crystal like this, a range of light wavelengths is ...

Flexible photonic crystal from liquid thin-film metasurface

Photonic crystals are predicted to be one of the wonders of the 21st century. In the 20th century, new understanding of the electronic band structure-the physics that determines when a solid conducts or insulates-revolutionized ...

Massive photons in an artificial magnetic field

An international research collaboration from Poland, the UK and Russia has created a two-dimensional system—a thin optical cavity filled with liquid crystal—in which they trapped photons. As the properties of the cavity ...

Flexible, transparent and cost-effective lasers

The interest in plastic electronics and photonics has experienced a significant increase in the last decades due to the exceptional optical, semiconducting and mechanical properties of these materials. Plastic electronics, ...

Physicists couple key components of quantum technologies

Quantum effects are genuinely found in the world of nanostructures and allow a wide variety of new technological applications. For example, a quantum computer could in the future solve problems, which conventional computers ...

Chameleon inspires 'smart skin' that changes color in the sun

A chameleon can alter the color of its skin so it either blends into the background to hide or stands out to defend its territory and attract a mate. The chameleon makes this trick look easy, using photonic crystals in its ...

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