In a traditionally male-dominated industry, Jessica Rowbury looks at the representation of women in the field of optics and photonics
During a plenary session at Photonics West, SPIE CEO Dr Eugene Arthurs paid tribute to his friend Charles Townes, the inventor of the maser, who passed away on 27 January. Jessica Rowbury reports on Towne' life
Greg Blackman investigates the latest miniature and wearable sensing technology, including 'smart' textiles incorporating fibre optic sensors to give data on movement
Tom Eddershaw looks at the advances being made in portable spectroscopy equipment for taking readings in the field
Free space optical communication was recently demonstrated from the Moon, and in 2020 could be used to transmit data from Mars. Jessica Rowbury reports from a conference at Photonics West where laser communication was discussed as a means to revolutionise data transmission to and from space
Organoid imaged with Andor’s desktop confocal microscope system, the BC43. Credit: Andor
As microscopes become ever more powerful, a growing band of businesses are racing to make the latest technologies more accessible and more affordable, reports Rebecca Pool
Illustration of a three-dimensional crystal with various types of confining centres. (a) Crystal with four confining centres, each trapping waves (yellow) in all three dimensions simultaneously. (b) Crystal with a linear confining centre where waves can propagate in one dimension, analogous to an optical fibre. (c) Crystal with a planar confining centre where waves can propagate in two dimensions, analogous to a 2D electron gas. (Image: Vos et al.)
Newly discovered fundamental rules have been embedded into software to dramatically optimise the design of photonic integrated circuits
