Intensity

Charge-trapping defects in crystalline solids play important roles in applications ranging from microelectronics, optical storage, sensing and quantum technologies. On one hand, depleting trapped charges in the host matrix reduces charge noise and enhances coherence of solid-state quantum emitters. On the other hand, stable charge traps can enable high-density optical storage systems. Here we report all-optical…

Future VR headsets could use a new type of lens inspired by holographic devices. The bilayer bifocal lens relies on external voltage to change the intensities in the foci.

Imagine knowing what berry or mushroom is safe to eat during a hike or swiftly detecting pathogens in a hospital setting that would traditionally require days to identify.

Strong field quantum optics is a rapidly emerging research topic, which merges elements of non-linear photoemission rooted in strong field physics with the well-established realm of quantum optics. While the distribution of light particles (i.e., photons) has been widely documented both in classical and non-classical light sources, the impact of such distributions on photoemission processes remains poorly understood.

Optical beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) attract widespread attention and play an important role in optical data storage, optical communications, quantum information processing, super-resolution imaging, and optical trapping and manipulation. However, the bulky volume and the complex systems of the conventional OAM beam generators limit their applications in integrated and miniaturized optical or…

Non-perturbative interactions (i.e., interactions too strong to be described by so-called perturbation theory) between light and matter have been the topic of numerous research studies. Yet the role that quantum properties of light play in these interactions and the phenomena arising from them have so far remained widely unexplored.

Multiphoton lithography (MPL) is a technique that uses ultra-short laser pulses to create complex three-dimensional (3D) structures at the micro- and nanoscale. It is based on the principle of multiphoton absorption (MPA), which occurs when two or more photons are simultaneously absorbed by a molecule, resulting in a nonlinear optical process.

Physicists at Stevens Institute of Technology use a 350-year-old theorem that explains the workings of pendulums and planets to reveal new properties of light waves.

Information processing with light is a topic of ever-increasing interest among optics and photonics researchers. Apart from the quest for an energy-efficient and fast alternative to electronic computing for future computing needs, this interest is also driven by emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, where ultrafast processing of natural scenes is of utmost importance. Since natural lighting conditions…

Zeolites have unique porous atomic structures and are useful as catalysts, ion exchangers and molecular sieves. It is difficult to directly observe the local atomic structures of the material via electron microscopy due to low electron irradiation resistance. As a result, the fundamental property-structure relationships of the constructs remain unclear.

Ultrafast extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectroscopy is a powerful technique for probing the dynamics of atoms and molecules with attosecond time resolution. However, conventional XUV absorption measurements only provide information about the imaginary part of the complex refractive index, which is related to the absorption coefficient. The real part of the refractive index, which describes the chromatic dispersion of…

National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have developed a method using a focused beam of helium ions to create arrays of defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) that can potentially be used for magnetic sensing applications.

There are obvious differences between cancerous cells and normal cells in morphology, chemical properties and mechanical properties. The detection of cytochemical and mechanical properties of tumor tissues can provide multi-dimensional information for the pathological process of cells and human tissues.

Near-Infrared (NIR) vision detectors and cameras play an essential role in today's high-tech tools for imaging, sensing and display technologies. Goggle- or binocular-based NIR cameras are particularly important for night vision, as well as medical and agriculture imaging. In conventional NIR cameras, the NIR light (700−2500 nm) is absorbed via a photocathode, leading to the discharge of electrons, which…

Buried features and re-entrant geometries drive application-specific metrology solutions.

Lithographically patterned perovskite nanocrystal arrays were used to determine radiation vectors from X-rays to visible light and the emission colours of the nanoparticles was used to create images of three-dimensional objects and for phase-contrast imaging.

Donna Strickland's chirped-pulse amplification technique is used in Lasik and medical imaging

3D printers form objects by layering melted plastic or metal, but this only works on large scales. What you need to fabricate microdevices for which the layering step is not feasible? What if it were possible to print directly into the bulk of an existing three-dimensional material?

Non-classical states of light such as single photons and entangled photons are key ingredients for chips dedicated to quantum computation, quantum sensing, quantum measurement, etc. Fabrication of a traditional chip is hard, but with billions of dollars of specialized equipment (and guys in white bunny suits) it can be done. Fabrication of a quantum chip is even harder. In addition, sources of non-linear light are…

Benefiting from superior capability in manipulating wavefront of electromagnetic waves, metasurfaces have provided a flexible platform for designing ultracompact and high-performance devices with unusual functionalities. Despite various advances in this field, the unique functionalities achieved by metasurfaces have come at the cost of the structural complexity, resulting in a time-consuming parameter sweep for the…