It is critical to measure and influence the direction of oscillation of a light wave in quantum communication or optical computing. Polarization control of a continuous laser wave is possible for the first time (via a special glass fiber with mirrors attached at both ends). Scientists can now control the polarization of a continuous light [..]

A new experimental platform promises to accelerate understanding how infectious bacteria develop antibiotic resistance. The microfluidic application rapidly encapsulates bacteria with varying antibiotic concentrations to study how they evolve to become resistant. Using microfluidics to encapsulate cells is not novel; numerous lab-on-a-chip devices are already available. The researchers have used it to discover biomarkers for [..]

Optical metamaterials will be in our pockets, kitchens, cars, and offices in the next three to five years. Experts in the field predict this. Because of increased technological maturity and lower production costs, doors to some profitable new markets for materials are opening. Optical metamaterials interact with photons using chemical compositions or surface properties smaller [..]

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has capped off the first seven months of its survey run by smashing through all previous records for three-dimensional galaxy surveys, creating the most extensive and most detailed map of the universe ever. Yet the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is only about 10% of the way through its five-year [..]

Over the last two decades, photonic quantum technologies have reached several significant milestones. However, scalability remains a major challenge when translating lab results into everyday applications. Applications frequently necessitate using over 1,000 optical components, each of which must be individually optimized. On the other hand, photonic quantum technologies can benefit from parallel advances in classical [..]

The wealth of properties in functional materials at the nanoscale has piqued the interest of many researchers in recent decades, fueling the development of ever more precise and inventive characterization techniques. Scanning probe microscopy-based techniques, for example, have been used in conjunction with advanced optical methods to probe the structure and properties of nanoscale domain [..]

Researchers investigated the effect of UV irradiation on the nonlinear optical response (NLO) of graphene oxide (GO), fluorographene (GF), hydrogenated fluorographene (GFH), and graphene (G) dispersions. In situ UV photoreduction enabled extensive modification of the degree of functionalization (i.e., oxidation, fluorination, and hydrogenation), effectively tuning the corresponding sp2/sp3 hybridization ratios. The nonlinear optical properties of [..]

At morphologic MRI, the most easily detectable manifestation of multiple sclerosis is focal white matter lesions (WML) of demyelination. They, however, only represent visible tissue damage. As a result, they cannot fully explain the topographic origin and severity of many clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis, especially in the disease’s progressive phase. Advanced imaging techniques have [..]

The skin-like electrical stretchable sensor has been widely employed for wearable human healthcare monitoring but is limited by electromagnetic interferences, poor waterproof performance, and point-type measurement. Now, researchers have developed a skin-like optical fiber (SSOF) stretchable sensor with excellent stretchability (up to 100%), flexibility, and excellent compliance with skin is reported. A hybrid coding based [..]

A new optical fiber imaging technique could transform imaging for industrial inspection and environmental monitoring applications. It allows 3D imaging at video rates through a fiber the width of a human hair. In the longer term, with development, the technique can work for applications in medical imaging. Typically, when light shines through a single optical [..]

Electrochemical reduction and evolution of oxygen are two critical reactions that almost determine the performance and efficiency of clean-energy devices due to their sluggish reaction kinetics and large overpotential. Apart from the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER), the importance of the hydrogen evolution/oxidation reaction (HER/HOR) cannot be ignored either, as hydrogen can work as a powerful [..]

Semiconductors, at the heart of electronic and optoelectronic devices, necessitate high-purity materials and expensive manufacturing processes. On the other hand, emerging applications frequently require a combination of the electronic and optical properties of inorganic semiconductors and cost-effective solution-based fabrication techniques suitable for industrial-scale manufacturing. Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as a versatile platform for [..]

Scientists have achieved efficient electron-beam modulation using integrated photonics – circuits that guide light on a chip. The experiments could lead to entirely new quantum measurement schemes in electron microscopy. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) can image molecular structures at the atomic scale by using electrons instead of light and has revolutionized materials science and [..]

Neurons use electrical pulses and chemicals to communicate with each other. Analyzing both is critical for studying brain function and spotting brain diseases, but today’s implants can measure only one or the other. Researchers have now made a multifunctional brain chip that can measure both electrical charges and neurochemicals in the brain and inject drugs [..]

According to a new study, a diagnostic blood test may help detect early-stage lung cancer in asymptomatic patients. Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death, is typically diagnosed late in the progression when the survival rate is extremely low. The current method for detecting early lung cancer lesions, low-dose spiral CT imaging, is not [..]

Researchers have set new efficiency records in a promising class of photovoltaic materials. These transition metal dichalcogenides, or TMDs, absorb extremely high levels of sunlight that strike their surface compared to other solar materials, such as silicon. It is far too heavy, bulky, and rigid for applications that require flexibility, lightness, and high power, such [..]

Researchers are predicting that split photons may also exist. This is a major paradigm change of how we understand light. Not only did the researchers find a new physical entity, but it was one that nobody believed could exist. The theoretical discovery of the split photons – known as a “Majorana bosons” – advances the [..]

Researchers are developing a new technique for imaging through a single multimode optical fiber the width of a human hair. The researchers aim to create a new generation of single-fiber imaging devices that can produce 3D images of remote scenes. Normally, when light shines through a single multimode optical fiber, crosstalk between modes scrambles the [..]

Exploring several contrasts in situ/operando at the nanoscale, such as X-ray fluorescence, diffraction, luminescence, and absorption, using synchrotron light on microfluidic systems, has the potential to reveal new properties and functionalities of materials in diverse areas, such as green energy, photonics, and nanomedicine. Researchers created and characterized a multifunctional polyester/glass-sealed microfluidic device that is well-suited [..]

Molecules have complex signatures in their spectra at infrared wavelengths, typically accessed using specialized spectroscopic equipment. Researchers discovered optomechanical frequency upconversion at ambient conditions from the mid-infrared to the visible domain using molecular vibrations coupled to a plasmonic nanocavity. Both approaches demonstrate the ability to upconvert the mid-infrared vibrations of the molecules in the nanocavity [..]