Optics

Tech Focus: Lumafield Announces Groundbreaking Ultra-Fast X-Ray CT Technology

At the Battery Show this week, Lumafield announced the launch of its Ultra-Fast Computed Tomography (CT) technology, a groundbreaking advancement in manufacturing...

Is that a Smartphone or Microscope in Your Pocket? It's Both!

Researchers have demonstrated that their smartphone-based digital holographic microscope can capture, reconstruct, and display holograms in almost real time.

New High-Performance Ultrafast Lasers That Fit on a Fingertip

In a newly published paper in the journal Science, researcher Qiushi Guo demonstrated a novel approach for creating high-performance, ultrafast lasers on nanophotonic chips. His work centers on miniaturizing mode-lock lasers. Read on to learn more.

Unique Nanodisk Holds Major Potential for Future of Photonic Research

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have for the first time succeeded in combining two major research fields in photonics by creating a nanoobject with...

A New Optical Counterfeit Detection Method for Computer Chips

Researchers in Purdue University’s College of Engineering have developed a patent-pending optical counterfeit detection method for chips used in semiconductor devices.

Generative AI Systems Can Produce Robot-Training Simulations

URDFormer takes images of real environments from the internet and quickly creates physically realistic simulation environments where robots can train.

The Latest Advancements in Optics

Optics are used in a vast range of applications in virtually every sector of human endeavor, from scientific microscopes to medical diagnostic imaging, from automobile headlights to telescopes pointed at the stars. Read on to learn about their advances.

New Products

See the new products, including TRIOPTICS' expansion of its OptiCentric® 101 centration measurement system, a new type of laser-based immersion probe, LightSolver's breakthrough in quantum-inspired high-performance computing, Teledyne FLIR's next-generation embedded software for the ITAR-free Boson+ thermal camera module, IDS Imaging Development Systems' all essential camera components for the uEye ACP series, and much more.

New Membrane Mirrors for Large Space-Based Telescopes

Researchers have developed a new way to produce and shape large, high-quality mirrors that are much thinner than conventional space-telescope mirrors. The final product is even flexible enough to be rolled up and stored compactly inside a launch vehicle. Read on to learn more.

Ultra-Narrowband Optical Filters Pushing Boundaries from the UV to the LWIR

Developments in ultra-narrow manufacturing capabilities enable transformative, world-changing, technology. Read on to learn how boundaries are being pushed.

Closing the Design-to-Manufacturing Gap for Optical Devices

A new method enables optical devices that more closely match their design specifications, boosting accuracy and efficiency. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Use Inkjet Printing to Make a Portable Multispectral 3D Camera

The palm-sized light field camera could improve autonomous driving, classification of recycled materials, and remote sensing. Read on to learn more about it.

Bird-Eye-Inspired Camera Developed for Enhanced Object Detection

This innovative camera technology represents a significant advance in object detection, offering numerous potential applications across various industries. Read on to learn more.

Unique Amplifier Could Change Optical Communication

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed an optical amplifier that they expect will revolutionize both space and fiber communication.

A Method to Accurately Center Quantum Dots Within Photonic Chips

Researchers have developed standards and calibrations for optical microscopes that allow quantum dots to be aligned with the center of a photonic component to within an error of 10 to 20 nanometers (about one-thousandth the thickness of a sheet of paper). Such alignment is critical for chip-scale devices that employ the radiation emitted by quantum dots to store and transmit quantum information. Read on to learn more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new type of glass with unique and even contradictory properties, a novel approach for actively controlling Dutch-roll oscillations of an eVTOL aircraft by using existing outboard propellers to dampen oscillations, and the world’s first practical titanium-sapphire laser on a chip.

Exploring Dark Matter with the Help of Robotic Fiber Positioners

In collaboration with the Via Project Team, New Scale Technologies is manufacturing next-generation “Viper” robotic fiber positioners to enable simpler yet faster survey operations.

PrivacyLens Can Turn You into a Stick Figure

A new camera could prevent companies from collecting embarrassing and identifiable photos and videos from devices like smart home cameras and robotic vacuums.

Ant Insights Lead to Robot Navigation Breakthrough

Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way home? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the...

Using AI to Better Map 3D Spaces Using 2D Images

Researchers have developed a technique that allows artificial intelligence (AI) programs to better map three-dimensional (3D) spaces using two-dimensional (2D) images captured by multiple cameras.

Using AI to Boost Metalens Cameras’ Image Quality

Researchers have leveraged deep learning techniques to enhance the image quality of a metalens camera. The new approach uses AI to turn low-quality images into high-quality ones.

How a Single-Shot Imaging System Unveils a Polarized World

Think of all the information we get based on how an object interacts with wavelengths of light — also known as color. Color can tell us if food is safe to eat or if a piece of...

A New Affordable Sensor for Lead Contamination

Engineers at MIT, Nanyang Technological University, and several companies have developed a compact and inexpensive technology for detecting and measuring lead concentrations in water,...

Aligning Laser Antenna Optical Components for the LISA Space Mission

In January, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Science Program Committee approved the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, the first scientific endeavour to...

Precision Motion Control: Six Elements To Consider for Photonics and Optics Alignment Applications

Whether you are manufacturing, inspecting, aligning or bonding, it is essential to have a fundamental understanding of precision motion principles to effectively engage with suppliers and choose one who will maximize your effectiveness. An ideal motion supplier will navigate your precision motion control journey alongside you as a partner who is invested in your longterm success.

Properly Tolerancing Aspheric Lenses to Balance Cost and Performance

Understanding how to effectively tolerance aspheres is an incredibly useful communication tool to get the most out of your lens. In this article, we will provide some context behind asphere tolerances, exploring the factors that influence cost and performance.

Catching Lightning With Phantom Cameras

Astroparticle Physicist Dr. Rasha Abbasi, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Loyola University Chicago, works with the Telescope Array project. Located west of Delta, Utah, the project is an international collaboration between universities to observe high-energy cosmic rays. Abbasi and her team study how TGFs originate from the Earth’s atmosphere and propagate. In particular, the team hopes to answer key questions.