Photonics

Wearable Strain Sensor Using Light Transmittance

This technology shows potential for the detection of subtle human motions and the real-time monitoring of body postures for healthcare applications.

Neural Hardware for Image Recognition in Nanoseconds

An ultrafast image sensor with a built-in neural network can be trained to recognize certain objects.

Method Verifies that Quantum Chips are Computing Correctly

The method determines whether circuits are accurately executing complex operations that classical computers can’t tackle.

Comb on a Chip Could Revolutionize Clocks, Telescopes, Telecommunications

Just as a meter stick with hundreds of tick marks can be used to measure distances with great precision, a device known as a laser frequency comb, with its hundreds...

New Products

Ultraviolet-Enhanced Circular Photodetector Opto Diode Corporation (Camarillo, CA) has introduced the UVG5S, an ultraviolet-enhanced photodiode with a 5 mm² circular active area. The new device is suitable for detection between...

Using Sunlight to Save Satellites from Becoming ‘Space Junk’

Carolin Frueh is among only a handful of researchers who have persisted in using a complex technique that can diagnose a problem from thousands of miles away based on how a...

Transparent Graphene Electrodes Might Lead to New Generation of Solar Cells

A new way of making large sheets of high-quality, atomically thin graphene could lead to ultra-lightweight, flexible solar cells, and to new classes of...

Answering Your Questions: Will the 2020 Mars Rover Have Back-Up Features?

A reader asks our NASA expert: "What kind of redundancy is built into the Mars 2020 rover?"

High Quality Optical Surfaces

Make sure the polished optic meets the requirement of a particular application.

Optical In-Line VCSEL Testing

In-line testing of certain LEDs, using nanosecond pulses, will become more and more relevant with time-of-flight applications.

ZERODUR: The Highly Technical Glass-Ceramic

Highly technical glass-ceramic delivers optical precision at nanometer scale.

New Products

High-speed cameras, ultra-stable mounts, automated inspection systems, and more...

Understanding Sensitivity in sCMOS Microscopy Cameras

A new iteration of sCMOS camera technology promises even higher sensitivity than prior designs.

Unlocking the Gate to the Millisecond CT

A new CT scan method using intense synchrotron radiation produces higher quality images within milliseconds.

A Combined Optical Transmitter and Receiver

Researchers at Linköping University, together with colleagues in China, have developed a tiny unit that is both an optical transmitter and a receiver.

New High-Speed Microscope Can Capture Brain Neuroactivity

A research team has built a super-high-speed microscope.

Low-Cost Imaging System Poised to Provide Automatic Mosquito Tracking

A new low-cost imaging system could make it easier to track mosquito species that carry disease, enabling a more timely and targeted response.

Extended Dynamic Range Camera Imaging

New surveillance sensors are able to perform better than ever under unpredictable and dynamic lighting conditions.

Photonic Microwave Generation Using On-Chip Optical Frequency Combs

Using integrated photonic chips fabricated at EPFL, scientists have demonstrated laser-based microwave generators.

Beyond LPW: Debunking the Myth that More is Better

There’s been a race to the top among industrial LED lighting manufacturers as they scramble to squeeze the maximum possible lumens per watt (LPW) out of their products.

Quantum Computing at Room Temperature

Quantum computer circuits that will no longer need extremely cold temperatures to function could become a reality.

Carbon Nanostructure is Stronger Than Diamonds

A novel plate-cell architecture reaches the theoretical limit of performance.

Process for Producing High-Quality, Lightweight Mirrors

The process provides a cost-effective solution for applications in space-based imaging systems, military reconnaissance, and satellite and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Device Modulates Light and Amplifies Tiny Signals

This system can amplify a faint signal from a neighboring system even when that signal’s amplitude is as small as ten trillionths of a meter.

As Fewer Planes Take Off, NASA's Pandora Sensors Measure Airport Air Quality

An empty airport tells you more than you might think.

Layered Solar Cell Technology Boosts Efficiency and Affordability

The future’s getting brighter for solar power. Researchers from CU Boulder have created a low-cost solar cell with one of the highest power-conversion efficiencies to date...