Researchers have shown that quantum particles can carry an unlimited amount of information about things they have interacted with. The results could enable far more precise measurements and power new technologies, such as super-precise microscopes and quantum computers. Metrology is the science of estimations and measurements. If you weighed yourself this morning, you’ve done metrology. [..]

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide have implemented a ground-breaking facial recognition system powered by artificial intelligence that can recognize people wearing masks. In addition, the device can identify people in very dim lighting. The biometric system can identify individuals using only 40% of their face compared to a reference image or video, making it [..]

Due to limitations in how it can sense objects using lidar, a self-driving vehicle struggles to distinguish between a toddler and a brown bag that abruptly appears in view. The autonomous vehicle business is looking into “frequency modulated continuous wave” (FMCW) lidar to address this issue. Researchers have developed a method for lidar that uses [..]

Researchers are using cutting-edge microscale accuracy to track the development of coatings as they dry. Thin film coatings accomplish much more than beautifying surfaces. For instance, they can be used as medical equipment in edible films transporting medications to combat the opioid epidemic. For films used in drug delivery technology, it is particularly crucial to [..]

Researchers have shown that a novel near-infrared spectroscopy-based mapping method can differentiate between fat and muscle tissue in the heart. This distinction is crucial when using radiofrequency ablation to address the serious heart rhythm issue known as ventricular tachycardia. The only therapy for ventricular tachycardia is radiofrequency ablation, which involves locating the parts of the [..]

Various 3D sensing, imaging, illumination, and ranging uses, as well as their convergence in new lidar technology, could be made possible by implementing optical phased arrays (OPAs) in integrated photonic circuits. Although large aperture sizes are required to enable medium- to long-range lidar, current integrated OPA approaches must be scaleable regarding control complexity, power consumption, [..]

Researchers have conducted a ground-breaking operation to show “hybrid” quantum networking, which is a first for the world. The method, which combines two ways of encoding information in light particles called photons, may enable more powerful and reliable computing and communications. Quantum networking systems can encode information as discrete variables (DVs) in particles or continuous [..]

Researchers have shown that recyclable, flexible electronics have a high potential for use in the production of cheaper solar cells, touchscreens, wearable ‘e-skins,’ and next-generation responsive windows. These materials, created using a simple, low-cost fabrication process, have the potential to replace traditional transparent conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide (ITO), which is a required [..]

The tree of life is full of species that transitioned from aquatic to terrestrial. Some species occasionally went oppositely. A CT scan showed new information about the inner ear anatomy of ancient reptiles called thalattosuchians, providing details about one of these evolutionary turning points. Following a protracted semiaquatic phase, these now-extinct crocodile relatives entered the [..]

Whether it be computing systems, sensors, or lidars, the modern photonics business is constantly working to make its products smaller. Making lasers, transistors, and other components compact is required for this. A team of scientists proposed an affordable, fast fabrication method to create optical chips in a Petri dish. Devices built on microscopic lasers and [..]

The primary component used in electrical engineering is silicon. Silicon is the foundation for all information and computing technologies essential to contemporary society, including computers, communications, astronautics, biomedicine, robotics, and many others. The slow speed of electrical signal propagation in metal interconnection wiring is the primary challenge to accelerating integrated circuit speeds. It necessitates switching [..]

Thanks to research, integrated switching units can now be constructed on a silicon photonics chip in a novel, programmable, and energy-efficient manner. By enabling a generic optical circuit to be manufactured in bulk and later programmed for specific applications like communications systems, LIDAR circuits, or computing applications, the new circuit technology is positioned to lower [..]

A new chip-based device that can shape and steer blue light could significantly reduce the size of the light projection components used in emerging applications such as VR display, autonomous vehicles, optogenetics, and even trapped-ion quantum computers. Researchers have made an optical phased array (OPA) with a wide field of view that contains no moving [..]

Before the invention of lens-design software, complex optical systems were regularly created by manual calculation, resulting in extremely effective microscopes, telescopes, camera lenses, and other optics that served their purposes well. The effects of glass, manufacturing, and mechanical imperfections can now be taken into account with a high degree of precision by the lens designer, [..]

Optical frequency combs, which provide hundreds of evenly spaced and mutually synchronized laser lines, are a crucial component of microwave photonics. They are extremely brief optical pulses with a steady repetition rate that matches comb line frequency spacing—the bursts’ photodetection results in the creation of a microwave carrier. Chip-scale frequency combs made from nonlinear microresonators [..]

In addition to having a basic impact on science, the three-dimensional (3D) vectorial nature of electromagnetic waves of light has inspired innovative uses for optical displays, microscopy, and manipulation. Conventional optical holography, on the other hand, can only handle the amplitude and phase information of an optical beam, totally excluding the 3D vectorial feature of [..]

The number of COVID-19 cases has not yet hit its peak and supplies of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks are dwindling, so medical communities are desperately looking for alternative solutions for disinfecting masks that healthcare workers are being forced to reuse. Medical optics solutions can prove very helpful in such conditions.  [..]

To treat a type of red-green color blindness called deuteranomaly, researchers have put metasurfaces, ultra-thin optical components, with commercially available high-tech contact lenses. People who experience different types of color blindness may find the new customizable contact lenses easy and comfortable. Additionally, the quality of plastic optical lenses can be enhanced by this research. Simple [..]

A recently released report from several German trade and research organizations argues that photonic technologies can represent “a driver of global sustainability,” and that the application of these technologies can prevent some 2.92 billion tons of annual CO2 emissions by 2030. Those avoided emissions, according to the study, would “correspond to at least 11% of [..]

Lasers that switch on and off billions of times per second are the backbone of optical communications networks, but this feat is only possible at certain laser frequencies. A team of researchers has now taken a step towards extending this frequency range by using sound waves to modulate the emission of a terahertz (THz) quantum [..]