Researchers have taken a cue from nature’s most dazzling creatures to develop a new material that can change color quickly. Inspired by the rapid color shifts in creatures like squid and cuttlefish, these color-changing materials use tiny, light-manipulating structures to achieve a full spectrum of brilliant colors. The Challenge Existing color-changing materials often rely on [..]

Adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) has enabled in vivo cellular imaging of the human retina. This technology has excellent resolution but suffers from noise, making it difficult to see individual cells. However, because imaging noise (e.g., speckle) makes it difficult to see RPE cells from a single volume acquisition, many 3D volumes are typically [..]

A new study investigates the possibilities of a unique pancake optics system for next-generation VR and MR displays. Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) have broadened our perceptual frontiers, allowing for more complex human-digital interactions than typical flat-panel displays. This has resulted in applications for smart education, healthcare, navigation, gaming, entertainment, [..]

Fingerprint scanners have become ubiquitous tools for personal identification. But how exactly do these devices translate your fingertip’s unique ridges and valleys into a recognizable signal? This article delves into the fascinating world of fingerprint scanner technology, exploring the interplay of light, electricity, and even sound waves to achieve secure user authentication. Fingerprint scanners employ [..]

New bioluminescent imaging technology has produced comprehensive images of oxygen movement in mice’s brains, allowing researchers to investigate forms of hypoxia in the brain, such as oxygen deprivation during stroke or heart attack. The approach uses luminous proteins, chemical cousins of bioluminescent proteins found in fireflies. These proteins are produced by a virus in the [..]

Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in generating high-quality microwave signals using a tiny photonic chip. This new device can produce low-noise signals using a single laser, overcoming a major hurdle in previous methods requiring multiple lasers and bulky setups. The photonic chip is miniscule, paving the way for its integration into future communication devices. [..]

Metal halide perovskites are gaining popularity due to their superior optoelectronic features, which include a high photoluminescence quantum yield (QY), absorption coefficient, tunable band gaps, long carrier diffusion lengths, and defect tolerance. Direct laser writing (DLW) is an efficient, contactless, mask-free, and depth-resolved micro-patterning technology that involves linking a laser beam to a high-resolution microscope. [..]

Crafting exceptionally thin silver films presents a significant challenge for flexible optoelectronic devices. Conventional techniques often yield films that are both discontinuous and suffer from poor conductivity. This roadblock hinders the development of next-generation flexible displays and other optoelectronic applications. Researchers have recently proposed a groundbreaking approach to generating ultrathin silver films with exceptional continuity [..]

Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in manipulating light signals using liquid crystals. This new technique integrates femtosecond laser writing with liquid crystals embedded in waveguides. This enables electro-optical control of light polarization, paving the way for novel photonic devices. Previously, femtosecond lasers were used for writing waveguides, but they could not modulate the light [..]

In the realm of photonics, miniaturized, high-performance devices are crucial for various applications. With their unique optical and electronic properties, inorganic perovskites have emerged as a promising material for such devices. Researchers have developed an inorganic perovskite-based integrated photonic devices. The researchers detail a method for fabricating these devices using focused ion beam etching and [..]

Machine vision is crucial in various industrial tasks, from quality control to robot guidance. However, traditional lighting systems often struggle to keep pace with the demands of high-speed imaging, leading to blurred images, inaccurate measurements, and safety concerns. Hidden strobe hardware offers a game-changing solution by utilizing rapid pulses of light invisible to the human [..]

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a powerful tool for imaging biological samples at high resolution. However, using the right fixation methods is important to preserve the sample’s structure and prevent artifacts. Researchers discuss a new method for fixing blood samples for SEM analysis using the May-Grünwald solution. This method is less toxic than traditional methods [..]

Fascinating new development in room-temperature quantum optomechanics! A recent study has achieved quantum control of solid-state mechanical oscillators at room temperature. This is a significant breakthrough as it paves the way for miniaturized and integrated quantum devices. Traditionally, controlling the quantum state of mechanical oscillators has been limited to cryogenic temperatures due to the thermal [..]

A new method for optical secret-sharing has been proposed that uses cascaded liquid crystal holograms to encrypt information. The information is hidden in different shares, and it can only be decrypted by combining the shares. This makes the information more secure than traditional methods. The framework also uses multiplexing to increase the amount of information [..]

A groundbreaking microscopy technique called single-shot quantitative phase-fluorescence imaging (SQPFI) is poised to revolutionize how we study cells and biological samples. This innovative approach simultaneously captures the structural details and the distribution of fluorescently labeled molecules within a sample – all in a single snapshot. SQPFI leverages a unique grating and a color camera to [..]

New research discusses the design of photonic crystal sensors using micro-ring resonators. The researchers propose a new algorithm to optimize the design of these sensors and find that it has a higher quality factor and sensitivity. This means that the sensor can detect smaller changes in the refractive index of the material it is measuring. [..]

In the realm of space exploration, pinpointing faint and minuscule objects amidst the vast darkness poses a significant challenge for optoelectronic systems. A recent study details a novel approach called space-based target detection that enhances target detection efficacy for space-based systems. The proposed method hinges on two key components: star atlas preprocessing and space-based target [..]

Traditionally, infrared (IR) spectroscopy has been a powerful tool for studying proteins. However, its application to single proteins has been limited due to the diffraction limit, which restricts the spatial resolution to hundreds of nanometers. This is far larger than the size of a typical protein, making it difficult to isolate and analyze individual molecules. [..]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming microscopy by enhancing image efficiency and data analysis. A prominent example is the smartLLSM microscope, which uses AI-based instrument control to switch between imaging modes and take high-resolution images of biological specimens. It enables the capture of uncommon or ephemeral biological phenomena at a rate that exceeds human capabilities. Cell [..]

Multi-probe imaging has been shown to accurately image small animal tissue up to several hundred micrometers in size, a technique that could be useful in medical research by allowing researchers to observe tissue microstructure and understand the localization and interaction of multiple molecules, such as cancer cell metastatic lesions. Researchers used a SPECT system with [..]