Optics and photonics

Latest articles

$Diffractive robotics platform$

Magnetically controlled microbots are small enough to diffract visible light

Photo of the laser shadow in a dark laboratory, where it appears as a faint black line across a bright blue background

Laser beam casts a shadow in a ruby crystal

Complex photon-photon interactions make a beam of light behave like a solid object

Electromagnetic waves solve partial differential equations

New photonic technique could boost analogue alternatives to numerical methods

Research headlines

Ultrafast electron entanglement could be studied using helium photoemission

Lens breakthrough paves the way for ultrathin cameras

Four-wave mixing could boost optical communications in space

First human retinal image brings sight-saving portable OCT a step closer

Siloton’s handheld OCT system could soon be used for home-based monitoring of retinal disease, and may one day find its way onto future space missions

Chip-based optical tweezers manipulate microparticles and cells from a distance

Integrated optical phased array uses a tightly focused beam of light to trap and manipulate biological particles

Liquid-crystal bifocal lens excels at polarization and edge imaging

Applied voltage adjusts intensity at twin focal points

Camera takes inspiration from cats’ eyes to improve imaging performance

Device might be employed in applications such as autonomous vehicles, drones and surveillance systems

Metasurface-enhanced camera performs hyperspectral and polarimetric imaging

Inexpensive metasurface could revolutionize the capabilities of conventional imaging systems

New on-chip laser fills long sought-after green gap

Devices will be important for applications in quantum sensing and computing, biology, underwater communications and display technologies

Optics newsletter

Sign up for our optics newsletter! Sent twice a year, we will collate the recent highlights in optics research, industry news and long reads and bring them straight to your inbox. Simply sign in to your account and tick the “Optics – biannual” box to register.

Photonics West 2023

A series of short films showcasing the latest optics and photonics innovations from exhibitors at Photonics West 2023

Avantes launches its new Pacto spectrometer

The Pacto has been tailored for the life sciences and biomedical industries

Detection technologies from the Tibidabo group

Tibidabo group companies outline their range of products designed for photon detection

Innovation in diamond applications from Element Six

Staff from Element Six outline the many thermal, optical and quantum applications of diamond

Tunable lasers and femtosecond lasers from Hübner Photonics

Hübner Photonics introduces the company's C-WAVE product family of tunable and laser light sources

MKS-Newport’s high performance optical filters

MKS-Newport introduces the ODiate high-performance optical filter line at Photonics West 2023

New fibre laser technology from NKT Photonics

NKT Photonics presents new fibre lasers for the quantum computing community

Vibration isolation products from Minus K Technology

Minus-K Technology showcases the company's range of passive vibration isolators

Features

Hands holding a small piece of medical equipment in front of a patient's eye

Oculomics: a window to the health of the body

Rethinking physics: Silvia Vignolini on succeeding at the boundary between disciplines

Michael Robertson: pioneer of optical communications disconnects from the network

Explore more in optics and photonics

7-11-2024 Oxford solar cell researchers list

How to boost the sustainability of solar cells

Roadmap authors look to the future of photovoltaic technologies in this podcast

Ask me anything: Fatima Gunning – ‘Thinking outside the box is a winner when it comes to problem solving’

Physicist Fatima Gunning explains how mentorship has helped her grow as a researcher and teacher

Artist's impression of heat waves rising coherently from a structured metasurface

Metasurface makes thermal sources emit laser-like light

Pillar-studded surface just hundreds of nanometres thick allows researchers to control direction, polarization and phase of thermal radiation

Free-space optical communications with FPGA-based instrumentation

Available to watch now. Liquid Instruments explores how to implement optical modulation and detection techniques with a reconfigurable, FPGA-based device

Image showing a stylized circuit board with strings of 0's and 1's in the background

AI-assisted photonic detector identifies fake semiconductor chips

New technique could reduce risks of unwanted surveillance, chip failure and theft, say researchers

The various photonic orbital shapes observed by the researchers, which are much more complex than the lobe- and sphere-like shapes of electron orbitals.

Photonic orbitals shape up

The behaviour of photons confined inside three-dimensional cavity superlattices is much more complex than that of electrons in conventional solid-state materials

Hannah Stern: how new materials are driving the quantum revolution

Hannah Stern explains why the quantum revolution needs a new toolkit of materials

Ask me anything: Andrew Weld: ‘You’re probably going to be working for over 40 years, so make sure you enjoy what you do’

Andrew Weld is the head of research and development at QLM technologies

JEM-EUSO’s Mini-EUSO telescope deployed inside the ISS

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
...
Next
Last

Related jobs

Related events

Optics and photonics | Conference SPIE Photonics West 2025 25—30 January 2025 | San Francisco, US
Optics and photonics | Meeting SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning 2025 23—27 February 2025 | San Jose, US
Detectors and sensors | Conference SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing 2025 13—17 April 2025 | Orlando, US

Reset your password

Registration complete