Photonics/​Optics

Infrared Technology for Chamber Clean Endpoint Detection

Efficient and complete chamber cleaning processes are critical for the success of CVD/ALD processes.

New Products

See the new products, including a handheld NIR spectrometer, a Boson+ thermal camera module, next-generation pump laser diode, and much more.

A First-Of-Its-Kind Integrated Optical Isolator

A team of researchers led by electrical engineer Marko Lončar at SEAS has developed a method for building a highly efficient integrated isolator that’s seamlessly incorporated into an optical chip made of lithium niobate.

Transferring Data with Many Colors of Light Simultaneously

Researchers have demonstrated an energy-efficient method for transferring larger quantities of data over the fiber-optic cables that connect the nodes. This new technology improves on previous attempts to transmit multiple signals simultaneously over the same fiber-optic cables.

NeuWS Camera Overcomes Light Scattering With Full-Motion Video

Engineers have created full-motion video technology that could potentially be used to make cameras that peer through fog, smoke, driving rain, murky water, skin, bone, and other media that reflect scattered light and obscure objects from view.

Photonic Integrated Circuit Testing: Accelerating R&D From Lab to Fab

While the promise of smaller, better, faster, lighter devices enabled by integrated photonics technologies is indeed the ultimate goal for AIM Photonics, the actual path to high-volume manufacturing isn’t necessarily a smooth ride for PIC designers, developers, and engineers.

Novel Light-Field Sensor for 3D Scene Construction Has Unprecedented Angular Resolution

A research team has developed a 3D imaging sensor that has an extremely high angular resolution — it can distinguish points of an object separated by an angular distance, of as little as 0.0018°. The sensor operates on a unique angle-to-color conversion principle.

Quality Check for OLED and μ-LED Displays Amid the Race for Ever Higher Resolution

The race for very high resolutions places increased demands not only on display manufacturers, but also on the suppliers of light measurement technology.

Clean Technology Lasers: The New Tool in Surface Pre-Treatment for Superior Coating Adhesion

Given its effectiveness pretreating metal surfaces, industrial laser systems are increasingly being used in manufacturing facilities. The systems can be integrated into automated inline processing lines, or technicians can use mobile handheld units.

Pratt & Whitney, Virginia Tech Pioneer Laser-Optical Approach for Turbofan Engine Thrust Measurement

A longstanding partnership between Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and Pratt & Whitney has resulted in a new laser-optical technology that aims to revolutionize in-flight thrust measurement.

Nanoscale 3D Structure to Control Light

3D nanometer-scale metamaterial structures hold promise for advanced optical isolators.

Strengthening Electron-Triggered Light Emission

A wavelength of visible light is about 1,000 times larger than an electron, so the way the two affect each other is limited by that disparity. Now, researchers have come up with a way to make...

Engineering the Flow of Light

A novel nanostructure produces uniquely shaped light.

Researchers Acquire 3D Images with LED Room Lighting and a Smartphone

Researchers are tapping into dynamically controlled LEDs to create a simple illumination system for 3D imaging.

Automatic Observation Management System, New Tool to Coordinate Telescope Network

The "AOM" performs complex observations with ten observation modes and 175 strategies.

NASA, Rocket Lab Launch First Pair of Storm Observing CubeSats

Two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons, are in orbit after a successful launch.

Light-Based Computing Scheme Reduces Power Needed to Mine Cryptocurrencies

Researchers have developed a new light-based computing scheme that uses a photonic integrated circuit to reduce the energy necessary for cryptocurrency and...

Optical Neural Networks Could Speed Image Processing Time

Cornell researchers have developed an optical neural network (ONN) that can filter relevant information from a scene before the visual image is detected by a camera, a method that...

New Products

See the New Products, including Variable Beam Expander, a modulator, Smart Fixture Mount Sensors, a pluggable module, and more.

Optical Switching at Record Speeds Opens Door for Ultrafast, Light-Based Electronics and Computers

The future of electronics will be based instead on using laser light to control electrical signals, opening the door for the establishment of “optical transistors” and the development of ultrafast optical electronics.

Ultrafast Beam-Steering Breakthrough at Sandia Labs

The ability to control light using a semiconductor device could allow low-power, relatively inexpensive sources like LEDs or flashlight bulbs to replace more powerful laser beams in new technologies.

Wavelength-Multiplexed Diffractive Optical Processor Computes Hundreds of Linear Transformations in Parallel

Computing using light can potentially provide lower latency and reduced power consumption, benefiting from the parallelism of optical systems.

Lunar Lens: First Compact Flat Metalens Images Moon Surface

Using a new fabrication method, researchers developed a single-lens telescope and captured clear images of the lunar surface — achieving greater resolution of objects and much farther imaging distance than previous metalenses.

Controlling the Grind for Precision Photonics

As the tolerances for photonics systems become more demanding, controlling the grinding of optical components must also become more precise.