Optics & Photonics News

“Space is becoming a new market where you can invest, get a return on investment and see growth.”

Ahead of OFC, OPN spoke with plenary speaker Siegbert Martin about how space-based optical networks are transforming worldwide communications.

Check it out: https://bit.ly/4rYk075 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

What if lasers could be used for bone surgery, replacing current mechanical methods?

New work from @unibas.ch shows how altering the energy profile of a surgical laser allows deeper cuts in bone without damaging the tissue

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4sxgxw9 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

With a simple twist, researchers turned optical fiber into a topological insulator that can transmit light even across major structural defects.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/3NhRYnR

#light #fiber 💡 ⚛️

“‘Nothing’ is better than silica ... But no glass at all is even better.” —Sir David N. Payne

OPN's March cover feature looks at hollow-core fibers and how it is being used for applications beyond communications, like sensing, fiber lasers, and optical tweezers. https://bit.ly/46Aimjm

💡 ⚛️

Image of the Week: Tidal Shoreline

Temporary patterns are inscribed into apparently stratified surface layers by water flowing down a beach slope at low tide on the beautiful Scottish Isle of Skye.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

In new work from Harvard University, a team fabricated high-performance NIR microcavities with ultra-smooth surfaces that could one day play a role in next-generation quantum technologies.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4rP8vys

#Quantum #QuantumComputer #Computer 💡 ⚛️

Researchers from @flindersuniversity.bsky.social devised a method to create a low-cost infrared thermal imaging lens from readily available materials.

Read the OPN story for more! https://bit.ly/4l06a1p

#imaging #technology #materials 💡 ⚛️

Image of the Week: Plant 9 for our Spätlese

A cut of vine wood, which is used in the production of Spätlese, is observed in auto­fluorescence using an InnoQuant slide scanner.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Image of the Week: Pancharatnam Sunset

Transmission of diffuse light (from an RGB LED flashlight) through a cycloidal diffractive waveplate.

#2025OPNPhotoContest Honorable Mention

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Electro Optic Systems opened a Singapore facility to meet the growing demand for high-power laser weapons and defense systems.

The company says the new development represents a milestone in its global growth strategy.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/3MBc500

#lasers #defense #technology 💡 ⚛️

OPN's March issue is now live! 🥳

The issue includes features about novel uses for hollow-core fiber, photodynamic therapy, eye health with screen usage and so much more!

Check it out online 👉 https://bit.ly/4rw3URU

#fiber #photodynamictherapy #vision #technology 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers discovered a new photoreceptor!

A hybrid rod-like cone is found in some fish species that live at depths of up to 200 m allowing them to see in gloomy water.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/40kKXW8

#vision #photoreceptor #technology 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

In new work, a hair-thin acoustic sensor, housed in an optical fiber, can withstand extreme temperatures making it ideal for detecting the signs of potential failure in electrical transformers.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4kHVIuZ

#sensors #fiberoptics #technology 💡 ⚛️

Image of the Week: Underwater Shadows

Bright rims are visible around the edges of shadows of leaves floating in a pool. This effect, is caused by refraction and focusing of light.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Researchers developed a flexible fiber-based electrode that has a special angled tip that reduces tissue damage when implanted into the brain.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/3Mo6IBg

#neurology #brain 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

OPN's latest Light Touch, "The Crystal Cubes of Henry Swan," explores the invention of the first autostereoscopic viewer and its rise and fall in popularity back in the 1800s.

Check it out: https://bit.ly/46rJ9OT

#3D #Stereoscopic #Technology #History 💡 ⚛️

A new nonlical nonlinear metasurface is able to achieve nonlinear light generation while also steering the generated light to desired angles.

The device could lead to ultra-compact light sources and beam-steering elements.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4r96fSx

#metasurface #technology 💡 ⚛️

A photo of attendees at the Optica Women Scholars Conference.

A photo of attendees at the OFC Nagel Lounge.

We're dedicated to closing the gender gap through community-building, mentoring and providing resources to empower #WomenInSTEM.

On this #February11, read about members of the Optica community and how we're working to create a more inclusive environment: https://bit.ly/4aaAP8q 👩‍🔬

A photo of Elizabeth Rebecca Laird in a lab. [© University of Western Ontario, Physics Dept. Archive, used with permission]

Have you heard of Asteroid (16192) Laird? It was named after Elizabeth Laird, who joined Optica as a member in 1922.

Her interests in #physics were wide, including studies in magnetism and spectroscopy with Max Planck and Emil Warburg, work with radar, and a vast career in teaching. 👩‍🔬 #February11

Louise Sherwood McDowell in the Wellesley College physics laboratory, ca. 1909–20. [Wellesley College Archives / Library and Technology Services]

In 1919, three years after its founding, Optica admitted its first woman member.

In this feature, learn about the nine women who joined in the society’s first decade—and, and the situation for women scientists in the United States at the time: https://bit.ly/4tkl3PE

#February11👩‍🔬💡

Image of the Week: Naturally Focused Undulations

Naturally focused undulations on the back of a glass disk are illuminated by an LED and focused onto the translucent front as a network of caustics.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

"R&D programs do not fail because their assumptions were not 100% correct at the beginning, but because they do not pivot in new directions when required."

Joseph Mait shares lessons learned from his time as a US government program manager in the physical sciences: https://bit.ly/4anCXIy 💡 ⚛️

If you are interested in what I have to say about academia and my take on it, give it a read. 👇
#academicsky

Researchers have created a laser-driven technique that allows 3D microstructures to be created from almost any type of solid material, opening up possibilities for multifunctional microrobots and microscale technology.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/46cJ7dB 💡 ⚛️

"You have the power to steer your work to meaningful change, rather than waiting for someone else to make it happen."

-Falko Schmidt in OPN's latest Career Focus column as he discusses his academic and entrepreneurial career trajectory.

Read the story: https://bit.ly/4kj4bVz

#academicsky 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

In new work, researchers demonstrated how to switch between two types of skyrmions by directing differently shaped laser beams at a metasurface to generate terahertz pulses.

Read the story: https://bit.ly/3ZhrzZU 💡 ⚛️

Corning and Meta make US$6 billion deal to accelerate the building of advanced data centers in the United States to support Meta’s tech and AI ambitions.

Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4rzN3gI

#AI #Technology #DataCenter 💡 ⚛️

Check out the February OPN cover feature article "Quantum Connectivity for Scale" to learn about entanglement-based optical networks, which are emerging as the key to building larger, more capable quantum systems.

Read the story: https://bit.ly/4rMrgT9

#Quantum #OpticalNetworks #Entanglement 💡 ⚛️

Image of the Week: Light Thread

A microscope image of an optical step-index fiber that has been processed with a CO2 laser.

[2025 #OPNPhotoContest Honorable Mention]

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Image of the Week: Illuminated Hands

Hands illuminated with a white LED lamp appear semi-transparent.

[2025 #OPNPhotoContest Honorable Mention]

Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf