Magazine

Highest-Resolution Single-Photon Superconducting Camera

The NIST camera is made up of grids of ultrathin electrical wires, cooled to near absolute zero, in which current moves with no resistance until a wire is struck by a photon. In these superconducting-nanowire cameras, the energy imparted by even a single photon can be detected because it shuts down the superconductivity at a particular location (pixel) on the grid. Combining all the locations and intensities of all the photons makes up an image.

High-Brightness Source of Coherent Light Spanning from the UV to THz

An international team of researchers reports on a compact high-brightness mid-IR-driven source combining a gas-filled anti-resonant-ring photonic crystal fiber with a novel nonlinear-crystal. The tabletop source provides a seven-octave coherent spectrum from 340 nm–40,000 nm with spectral brightness 2–5 orders of magnitude higher than one of the brightest synchrotron facilities.

Terahertz Energy Focused by Credit Card-Sized Device to Generate High-Resolution Images

Researchers have created a device that enables them to electronically steer and focus a beam of terahertz electromagnetic energy with extreme precision. This opens the door to high-resolution, real-time imaging devices that are hundredths the size of other radar systems and more robust than other optical systems.

Metasurfaces Control Polarized Light at Will

Researchers at SEAS have uncovered hidden potential in metasurfaces and demonstrated optical devices that manipulate light’s polarization state with an unprecedented degree of control. Read on to learn more.

AI-Powered Self-Driving Microscopy Technique

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed an autonomous, or self-driving, microscopy technique. It uses AI to selectively target points of interest for scanning. Read on to learn more.

Next-Generation Flow Battery Design

A research team from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports that the flow battery, a design optimized for electrical grid energy storage, maintained its capacity to store and release energy for more than a year of continuous charge and discharge.

3D Battery Imaging Reveals Real-Time Life of Lithium Metal Cells

A team from Chalmers University of Technology has succeeded in observing how the lithium metal in the cell behaves as it charges and discharges. The new method may contribute to batteries with higher capacity and increased safety in our future cars and devices.

Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space

Wireless power transfer was recently demonstrated by MAPLE — Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment — one of three key technologies being tested by the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1), the first space-borne prototype from Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP), which aims to harvest solar power in space and transmit it to the Earth’s surface.

A New Design for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are researching solutions to these Li-ion battery issues by testing new materials in battery construction. One such material is sulfur.

Stretchable Micro-Supercapacitors to Self-Power Wearable Devices

A stretchable system that can harvest energy from human breathing and motion for use in wearable health-monitoring devices may be possible, according to an international team of researchers.

Low-Cost Ventilator Set to Help People in Low-Income Countries

The ventilators are simpler and cheaper to make than those currently available.

More Powerful RNA Vaccines

MIT researchers have engineered both the nanoparticles used to deliver the COVID-19 antigen and the antigen itself, to boost the immune response, without the need for a separate adjuvant. If further developed for use in humans, this type of RNA vaccine could help to reduce costs, the dosage needed, and potentially lead to longer-lasting immunity.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including a new feature for RJG's CoPilot process control system, Renishaw's expanded RenAM 500, AIRMAR's three medium ultra-wide transducers, Coilcraft's molded power inductors, VP810 vapor phase soldering systems from ASSCON, and more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including the University of Maryland's "cooling glass"; the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab's sensor that can perceive combinations of bending, stretching, compression, and temperature changes using color; Tufts' tiny biological robots; and more.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Advanced Energy Industries' new configurable power supply that delivers optimized, application-specific power conversion in a small form factor with up to four times higher power density than conventional solutions.

Robotic Additive Manufacturing of Large Steam Turbine Blades

Michael Kirka and a team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are the first to 3D print large rotating steam turbine blades. They achieved it with robot-controlled wire arc additive manufacturing.

How Webb Telescope Made Simulation Software Better

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope pushed optical modeling capabilities, driving advances in software used to design medical and augmented reality devices.

5Ws of the Eye-Safe Laser

There is an urgent need for new technologies to improve the timeliness of traumatic brain injury diagnosis. Researchers from the University of Birmingham have a laser-based solution.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month, 3D Systems' SLS 300 smaller-footprint 3D printer designed for use in settings other than a manufacturing floor.

Blue Laser Power Beaming for Planetary Exploration

Any plan for the long-term exploration or habitation of the Moon and Mars will almost certainly entail the use of multiple habitats, vehicles and remotely located equipment, all of which will require power sources.

How to Innovate and Overcome the Challenges of Blue Laser Beam Shaping

The blue laser has become the ideal light source for high-reflective metal processing, offering substantial advantages in various industrial applications such as cutting and welding.

OPO Lasers Put Optical Components to the Test

Optical parametric oscillator (OPO) lasers have long been utilized in sophisticated test and measurement applications such as mass spectrometry, photoacoustic imaging, and spectroscopy.

How Corning’s Hyperspectral Imaging in the Sky Sees the Unseen

New satellites equipped with Corning’s advanced hyperspectral-imaging technology can detect pipeline leaks and other environmental issues, providing precise monitoring and exploration capabilities for businesses and governments.

Designing Optics for Lunar Rovers, Satellites and Other Space-Based Applications

The year 2024 will be full of new satellite manufacturing, launches and operations, with major players like Amazon expected to start full-scale deployment of Project Kuiper and strong demand for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites driving development and launches from the likes of SpaceX and Telesat among others.

Sharper Images: A Breakthrough in Microscopy Resolution

Researchers at Boston University recently developed a novel deblurring algorithm that improves the resolution of images with photon intensity conservation and local linearity.

New Frequency Comb Can Identify Molecules in 20-Nanosecond Snapshots

With this new capability, researchers can potentially use frequency combs to better understand the split-second intermediate steps in fast-moving processes ranging from the workings of hypersonic jet engines to the chemical reactions between enzymes that regulate cell growth.

Measuring Earthquakes and Tsunamis with Fiber-Optic Networks

Scientists from the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich, working together with the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS), have found an inexpensive method that enables accurate earthquake measurements even on the ocean floor and in less developed countries.

New Products

See the new products, including Edmund Optics' new line of ultrafast laser systems; LightPath Technologies, Inc.'s long wave infrared (“LWIR”) microbolometer imaging cores; Metrio Sensors' vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array boards; Allied Vision's new Alvium camera series; and more.