Researchers have developed a wavefront sensor using a ‘photonic lantern’ that could optimise humanity’s viewing of the cosmos
Tech focus
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Sydney Institute for Astronomy researchers have developed a new type of wavefront sensor that leverages a ‘photonic lantern’ and deep learning. (Norris et al.)
01 November 2021
At Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, engineers integrate the gamma ray and neutron spectrometer into the Psyche spacecraft. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
01 November 2021
A gamma ray and neutron spectrometer was recently installed on the ‘Psyche’ spacecraft, which will launch next year to probe a distant asteroid and uncover clues about the origins of our solar system
More Tech Focus
Electronics quality checks made using laser triangulation. (Image: Sick)
01 November 2021
We ask four experts to give their advice for 3D imaging best practices
Sydney Institute for Astronomy researchers have developed a new type of wavefront sensor that leverages a ‘photonic lantern’ and deep learning. (Norris et al.)
01 November 2021
Researchers have developed a wavefront sensor using a ‘photonic lantern’ that could optimise humanity’s viewing of the cosmos
At Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, engineers integrate the gamma ray and neutron spectrometer into the Psyche spacecraft. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
01 November 2021
A gamma ray and neutron spectrometer was recently installed on the ‘Psyche’ spacecraft, which will launch next year to probe a distant asteroid and uncover clues about the origins of our solar system
Figure 1: Light propagation inside a photonic crystal is forbidden by a propagation gap, hence common plane waves are reflected and hardly penetrate into the crystal. By shaping the incident waves, they can be steered deep into the crystal. (Image: COPS, University of Twente)
24 September 2021
A team of researchers has achieved a new level of control over light entering photonic crystals
UpNano offers printing materials and accessories for additive manufacturing processes. (Image: UpNano)
24 September 2021
Additive manufacturing firm, UpNano, has recently combined its multiphoton lithography-based 3D printing system, NanoOne, with Zemax’s OpticStudio
The beam shape of the metasuface based external cavity laser can be fully controlled to project a complex hologram, such as the Harvard shield. (Image: Christina Spägele/Harvard SEAS)
24 August 2021
Harvard researchers have developed a metasurface that can effectively tune the properties of laser light without the need of additional optical components
Low-loss mirrors are a key technology for many different research fields. (Image: Yury Zap/Shutterstock.com)
24 August 2021
Researchers and industry partners have developed a low-loss mid-infrared mirror using a crystalline coating technology
Optical design has traditionally required large amounts of complex calculations to be performed. This can now be automated.
(Image: Zhang et al.)
20 July 2021
Researchers have developed a program for outputting high-quality freeform optical systems that simply requires basic optical design knowledge
Image: NicoElNino/Shutterstock
20 July 2021
A new single-photon avalanche diode system enables low-noise photon counting at superior speeds
01 June 2021
Scientists have developed a lensless, infrared spectral-imaging system for medical diagnostics
A metaform is a new optical component that can combine with freeform optics to enable compact AR/VR headsets and eyewear. (Image: University of Rochester illustration/Michael Osadciw)
01 June 2021
Researchers have combined freeform optics and a metasurface to deliver high-quality AR/VR glasses that are compact and easy to wear
A new dipping process using a sulfolane additive creates high-performing perovskite solar cells. The method is inexpensive and well-suited for scaling up to commercial production. (Image: LANL)
04 May 2021
The sulfolane-additive process yields easy fabrication, low-cost, top performance and long operating life
The rover Perseverance’s Sherloc instrument is equipped with the first UV Raman Spectrometer to be flown to the surface of Mars. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
04 May 2021
Perseverance is equipped with the first UV Raman Spectrometer to be flown to the surface of Mars
The gold ball used in size comparison with a one cent coin. (Image: Tobias Westphal/Arkitek Scientific)
26 March 2021
Scientists have demonstrated gravitational coupling between two gold spheres of one millimetre radius, thereby entering the regime of sub-100-milligram sources of gravity
This image shows perovskite photovoltaics in the background with individual perovskite crystals shown as the colourful units. (Credit: CUBE3D Graphic)
26 March 2021
Perovskite solar cell design delivers efficiencies to rival those made of silicon
Symetrie’s NanoPos is a miniature hexapod of 68mm height for positioning and adjustment of precision components in six degrees of freedom, with a 10nm resolution.
26 February 2021
Some of the latest positioning solutions for photonics equipment on the market
Samsung’s microLED display, The Wall, has been demonstrated at shows such as CES but is not yet available commercially. (Image: Samsung)
26 February 2021
Aledia brings making at least 24 million specialist wafers a year into sharp focus
The shape of modern optical components is becoming increasingly complex, which can make them more difficult to coat.
21 January 2021
Dr Kristin Pfeiffer, Pallabi Paul, and Dr Adriana Szeghalmi have developed conformal coating processes for functionalising strongly curved optics
A rendering of the experimental setup used. Light is reflected down to the nanostructure of molybdenum disulfide (yellow and teal lattice) and PZT (blue and green). Wavelengths reflecting from the surface are captured by the top detector as transmitted wavelengths pass through the PZT to the bottom detector. (Image: Hong et al.)
06 January 2021
Researchers could spur the development of smaller, more versatile optical filters that are especially adept at playing a trick of the light
03 November 2020
Car manufacturing has been hit hard by Covid-19 but the need for vision on production lines has not diminished, as Greg Blackman finds out
The optical set-up of the new dual-comb spectrometer. (Image: David R. Carlson, NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder)
03 November 2020
Matthew Dale speaks with the developers of the world’s first dual-comb spectrometer with an acquisition speed of 10 gigahertz
Photonic crystals are responsible for the iridescent colours of a butterfly's wings.
28 September 2020
Researchers have devised a new way of generating thin 3D photonic crystals that show promise for miniaturising photonic integrated circuits
Many university laboratories using lasers have had to shut down temporarily following a visit from an HSE inspector
26 August 2020
Matthew Dale learns how the safety knowledge of the laser community is not yet fully up to scratch
A small-sized silicon photonics chip that can be used for non-mechanical beam steering and scanning. (Credit: Yokohama National University).
26 August 2020
Japanese researchers have employed a bespoke prism lens to reduce the size and cost of lidar technology
Left: Birefringence image of a flat lens and intensity patterns of 488nm laser beam with different handedness circular polarisations focused and defocused by the same lens. Right: The same lens corrects short -5 D and long +5 D sightedness.
15 July 2020
Researchers have developed a new technique for producing flat optics with ultra-low loss and high damage threshold
A Hybrid Hexapod being used for camera image stabilisation (Image: ALIO Industries)
15 July 2020
As motion control systems reach ever-higher levels of precision, new standards and methods are required to better define their capabilities to end users, Matthew Dale finds
04 June 2020
US researchers have proposed a photovoltaic cell that could generate power throughout the night
A new type of PIC has been developed, the properties of which can be programmed using a combination of light and heat
30 April 2020
Researchers in the Netherlands have developed a new type of photonic integrated circuit that can be programmed using a combination of light and heat
A new simple chip powered by quantum dots allows standard microscopes to visualise difficult-to-image biological organisms.
30 March 2020
MIT researchers have developed a multi-layered chip that could dramatically reduce the cost of dark-field microscopes
02 March 2020
Matthew Dale discovers how high-resolution LED matrices and blue lasers are set to increase the functionality of automotive lighting
23 January 2020
The latest research on ultrafast lasers will be presented at Photonics West in San Francisco
Figure 2: Micro-integrated ultra-narrow linewidth diode laser based on resonant optical feedback (footprint of the AlN optical bench (light grey): 80 x 30mm2)
05 December 2019
The European Space Agency’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna requires very-low-noise seed lasers
05 December 2019
Professor Emir Salih Magden updates on plans to commercialise an on-chip broadband optical filter
12 November 2019
The technique uses a nanostructure that ‘traps’ molecules from the air and amplifies the Raman signal
25 October 2019
The high electrical current required to achieve the lasing process has made it difficult to create the devices up until now
25 September 2019
A University of Cambridge team has designed a nanowire-based spectrometer that doesn’t require dispersive elements like a prism, therefore permitting greater miniaturisation than conventional systems
12 July 2019
New method can measure large-scale quantum correlation of single photons, which until now would have required thousands of single photon counters
23 May 2019
A research team has created software for modelling femtosecond pulses that overlap at angles of up to 140 degrees much more efficiently than existing systems
29 April 2019
Combining 3D printing with metal-coating and wet-etching processes enables metamaterial geometrical optics with unique properties
09 April 2019
The amplification of phonons in solids represents a further step towards new phononic devices for the next generation of sensors, mobile phones and computing
27 February 2019
Optomel founder Damien Gardiner, a semi-finalist for SPIE's Startup Challenge at Photonics West, explains how the firm is making optical filters based on self-organised materials
10 December 2018
New nanometre-accurate hexapod opens up applications in laser processing and metrology
01 November 2018
Prism technology that’s now a major part of optical communications is finding its way into next-generation lidar systems
01 November 2018
Advances in Raman spectroscopy could one day make invasive blood glucose tests a thing of the past
21 September 2018
Matthew Dale on Daimler’s new beam analysis equipment for laser welding differential gears
21 September 2018
Consumer electronics, telecommunications, and solar energy are all driving developments in optical coatings, according to a new market report
21 August 2018
A new crystal doping technique could enable more powerful lasers
18 July 2018
A look at how single photon counting is being used in a Horizon 2020 project, and a round-up of the latest commercial products
26 June 2018
A look at the latest optical modelling programs and their application in the development of self-driving cars
30 May 2018
A look at the use of optical mirrors in space telescopes, and a round-up of the commercial offerings available for every application
19 April 2018
A laser-based gas analyser that employs novel optical parametric oscillator (OPO) technology was a finalist in this year’s SPIE Prism Awards
26 March 2018
Part of the development of advanced endoscopes is scaling down the components that position the micro-optics inside of them
16 February 2018
Continuously variable bandpass filters offer a good middle ground for building hyperspectral imaging solutions, says Delta Optical Thin Film’s Oliver Pust
14 November 2017
In November's Product Focus, we look at some of the latest spectroscopy systems, components and software
26 September 2017
In the October Product Focus, we take a look at the latest products for positioning optical components and systems
08 August 2017
In the August/September Product Focus, we take a look at the latest versions of optical modelling software
Latest issue
Keely Portway looks at the latest advances in diamond turning, including new properties and functions for optics
Credit: Parilov/Shutterstock.com
Joerg Volpp and Adrien da Silva, at the Luleå University of Technology, investigate beam shaping possibilities for high-power processing, co-authored by Alexander Laskin, from Adloptica
Carlos Lee, Epic’s director general, talks to Maria Chiara Ubaldi, co-founder and chief executive of Milan-based CareGlance
Image: Universal Quantum
Gemma Church details Universal Quantum’s work building a million-qubit quantum computer and what’s needed from optics and lasers
Daniel Holder is a research associate for laser material processing at the University of Stuttgart's IFSW.
Daniel Holder, of the IFSW at the University of Stuttgart, shares how new USP laser technologies could facilitate the rapid micromachining of silicon wafers
