Photonics/​Optics

How Much Do You Know About Capacitors?

Capacitors are fundamental components that are used in a wide variety of applications, from the tiniest electronics to high-power applications. What are capacitors, what are the differences among them, and what is common to all of them? Check your knowledge with this quiz.

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 Much Do You Know About Fiber Optics?

The science of transmitting data, voice, and images by the passage of light through thin, transparent fibers, fiber optics play a pivotal role in our daily lives. How much do you know about fiber optics? Find out with this quiz.

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,...

Can Lithium Tantalate Lower the Cost of Manufacturing Photonic Integrated Circuits?

Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) — or Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne — have leveraged the use of...

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...

Portable Laser-Guided Robotic Metrology (PLGRM)

Innovators at the NASA Glenn Research Center have developed the PLGRM system, which allows an installed antenna to be characterized in an aircraft hangar. All PLGRM components can be packed onto pallets, shipped, and easily operated.

New Products

See the new products, including TDK-Micronas' further extended Micronas 3D HAL® position sensor family, AW-Lake’s TRICOR Coriolis Flow Meters, Kistler's new accelerometer series 8740A and 8788A, Melexis' MLX90830, and more.

Towards More Accurate 3D Object Detection for Robots and Self-Driving Cars

Researchers from Japan have developed DPPFA–Net, an innovative network that overcomes challenges related to occlusion and noise introduced by adverse weather.

Better LIDAR in Autonomous Systems Starts with MEMS

The global market for automotive LIDAR is expected to grow from $332 million in 2022 to more than $4.5 billion by 2028. We interviewed Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO of Omnitron Sensors, Los Angeles, CA, to learn about a new MEMS scanning mirror that could accelerate the market adoption of LIDAR.

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.

New Products

See the new products, including TRIOPTICS’ ATS alignment turning stations, VIAVI Solutions' expanded fiber optic test solutions portfolio, LumeDEL's fiberoptic collimating lenses, Teledyne FLIR's Neutrino LC OGI optical gas imaging camera module, and IDS' Sony sensor.

A New Optical Metamaterial Makes True One-Way Glass Possible

A new approach has allowed researchers at Aalto University to design a kind of metamaterial that has so far been beyond the reach of existing technologies. Unlike natural materials, metamaterials and metasurfaces can be tailored to have specific electromagnetic properties, which means scientists can create materials with features desirable for industrial applications.

Optical Invention Mirrors the Image Processing Power of a Human Eye

Mimicking the easy, instantaneous image processing power of the human eye, Penn State electrical engineering researchers created a metasurface, an optical element akin to a glass slide that uses tiny nanostructures, placed at different angles to control light.

Advancements Make Laser-Based Imaging Simpler and Three-Dimensional

There are times when scientific progress comes in the form of discovering something completely new. Other times, progress boils down to doing something better, faster, or more easily. New research from the lab of Caltech’s Lihong Wang, the Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, is the latter. Read on to learn more.

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.

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.

Light-Based Tech to Navigate the Moon

RMIT University’s Arnan Mitchell and University of Adelaide’s Dr. Andy Boes led an international team to review lithium niobate’s capabilities and potential applications in the journal Science. The team is working to make navigation systems that help rovers drive on the Moon — where GPS is unable to work — later this decade.

Smart Contact Lenses to Diagnose Glaucoma

Usually developing slowly over time, many cases of glaucoma are only picked up during routine eye tests, by which time lasting damage may already have been caused. But this could change in the future as academics from the U.K. and Türkiye have developed a contact lens which can detect changes in eye pressure which signal possible glaucoma.

Liquid Crystals Hold the Key to Shapeshifting Robots

Robots and cameras of the future could be made of liquid crystals, thanks to a new discovery that significantly expands the potential of the chemicals already common in computer displays and digital watches. The findings are a simple and inexpensive way to manipulate the molecular properties of liquid crystals with light exposure.

Coherent Establishes 6-inch InP Wafer Fabrication Capability

Coherent has established what the company describes as the "world's first capability for 6-inch indium phosphide (InP) wafer fabrication." The compound semiconductor and...

Researchers Claim Lowest Ever Microwave Noise on a Integrated Photonic Chip

In a new Nature study, Columbia Engineering researchers have built a photonic chip that is able to produce high-quality, ultra-low-noise microwave signals using...