The microlens array has attracted significant attention with the increasing demand for optoelectronic miniaturization. It has become an important micro-optic device widely used in compact imaging, sensing, optical communication, and other applications. Microlens arrays are typically made up of multiple micron-sized lenses with optical surface smoothness and superior uniformity, which increases the need for machining [..]

These materials’ extraordinary optical, semiconducting, and mechanical qualities have increased interest in plastic electronics and photonics over the past few decades. For designing laser geometries of almost any form, plastic electronics based on conjugated polymers combine the advantages of cost-effective processability compatible with large-area deposition. With rigid inorganic semiconductor materials, this is not feasible. To [..]

By measuring the activity of a large number of individual neurons simultaneously, a new ultrasensitive optical nanoprobe that can monitor the bioelectric activity of neurons (and other cells that generate electrical impulses) could help researchers better understand how neural circuits function at previously unexplored scales. In the future, the device could aid in developing high-bandwidth [..]

An experiment that could result in more precise sensors and clocks will test Einstein’s twin paradox using quantum particles in a superposition state. According to the twin paradox, time can move at different rates for individuals depending on how close they are to a large mass or how quickly they are moving. For instance, a [..]

A novel method for adjusting and engineering the mirror symmetry of polarization in structured optical fields has been created by a research team. The team has named these polarization states kaleidoscope-structured vector optical fields (KS-VOFs) and claims that their adjustable symmetries and geometries provide an “additional degree of freedom” that may be useful in optical [..]

Physicists and materials scientists have created a small optical device with vertically stacked metasurfaces to produce microscopic text and full-color holograms for encrypted data storage and color displays. A study team implemented a 3-D integrated metasurface device to make the optical device smaller. The study team designed optical elements by modifying the wavefront of light [..]

For the precise diagnosis of people with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), a research team has created a test that combines highly sensitive coamplification at lower denaturation temperature polymerase chain reaction (COLD-PCR) with probe-based fluorescence melting curve analysis (FMCA). The straightforward, affordable test might be applied frequently in medical labs. The hepatitis B virus (HBV) can [..]

Researchers have demonstrated that they can picture the simultaneous electrical activity of many neurons in the brains of mice using a fluorescent probe that illuminates when brain cells are electrically active. Neuroscientists may be able to see the activity of brain circuits using this method, which can be carried out using a basic light microscope, [..]

A nanolaser developed by researchers can be used on living cells without damaging them. The nanolaser, created in collaboration with a team from Columbia University, can range in thickness from 50 to 150 nanometers, allowing it to fit and operate properly inside living cells. The tiny lasers function at energy orders of magnitude lower than [..]

Researchers have created a silicon carbide (SiC) photonic integrated optical chip that can be thermally tuned by applying an electric signal. Phase shifters and tunable optical couplers, which are required for networking apps and quantum information processing, could be made using the method in the future. SiC is becoming more popular even though silicon still [..]

In building, industrial design, and medical technology, the ability to bend glass sheets into angular corners without causing damage to the sheet or impairing the optical properties is appealing. Scientists have been working on a laser-based method to bend glass for some time, and they recently revealed their most recent project accomplishments. Lasers provide the [..]

An early instance of optical communication, or the transmission of information using light, can be found in the signs sent from lighthouses to ships at sea. Today’s integrated photonics scholars use optical communications principles to create high-tech, light-powered devices (with integrated photonics platform) like lightning-fast computers. One-dimensional metalens, tiny surfaces made of nanostructures to control [..]

To help clinicians better detect and track eye diseases like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, researchers have applied artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning techniques to develop a more precise and in-depth method for analyzing optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the back of the eye. OCT imaging, frequently used in ophthalmology and optometry, captures high-resolution [..]

A novel microwave imager chip created by researchers may one day be used in low-cost handheld imagers or cameras. The new imager might help image through walls or find tumors through body tissue because microwaves can pass through some opaque items. The researchers explain how they created an imager chip with more than 1,000 photonic [..]

A new stretchable optical lace may make soft robots even softer to the touch. The synthetic material forms a linked sensory network, similar to a biological nervous system, allowing robots to sense how they interact with their surroundings and adjust their actions accordingly. Researchers want to measure stresses and strains in highly deformable objects using [..]

Moore’s law won’t prevent you from developing better head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR), but the law of etendue will, according to a member of Microsoft’s AR development team. According to Bernard Kress, a partner optical architect for the computer software business, the unwritten “law” that has guided silicon-chip development for more than 50 years [..]

Researchers working to improve infrared sensors say their gold nano-antenna technology is prepared to move from the lab to market development. The team asserts that the novel detectors reduce dark current by as much as two orders of magnitude while increasing sensitivity by a factor of three. The tiny antennas concentrate light onto a much [..]

Scientists have used a microchip to scan the back of the eye to diagnose diseases. The interference technology used in the chip has been around for a while; it is similar to bat sonar but uses light pulses instead of sound waves. It is the first instance in which technological challenges have been surmounted to [..]

A system that measures a patient’s degree of pain by examining brain activity from a portable neuroimaging device has been created by researchers. The method may assist medical professionals in identifying and managing pain in unconscious and nonverbal patients, potentially lowering the risk of postoperative chronic pain.The researchers outline a technique to measure patient discomfort [..]

For the first time, scientists have built holograms that can detect the polarization of light using incredibly thin layers of 2-D structures called metasurfaces. For polarization measurements, which are used in spectroscopy, sensing, and communications, the new metasurface holograms could be used to build extremely quick and small devices. Metasurfaces are optical components with features [..]