Optics & Photonics news
Building a more versatile laser
Nov 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the drawbacks associated with using semiconductor lasers is that many of them can only produce a beam of a single wavelength, and can only send that beam in one direction at a time. ...
New interferometer could simplify materials research
Aug 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- “Most current hard x-ray interferometers are based on crystals, which require their high quality and high mechanical stability,” Anatoly Snigirev tells PhysOrg.com. “This can make x-ray interferometry quite ...
A Polymer Solar Cell with Near-Perfect Internal Efficiency
Jun 17, 2009 |
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An international group of scientists has developed a polymer-based solar cell with an ability not yet seen in similar cells: almost every single photon it absorbs is converted into a pair of electric-charge carriers, and ...
HoloTV Images Jump off the Screen, into Tomorrow's Homes (w/Video)
Mar 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Unlike today’s biggest and most realistic LCD and plasma TVs, 3D TV screens can project images that seem to float in mid-air beyond the screen. That means, for instance, that viewers could ...
'Voltage Patterning' could be next step in nanostructure lithography
Mar 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- "What you want these days is to have precise control of nanostructures. Using masks and optical techniques, it is possible to control how nanostructures grow for use in practical applications," David Field ...
Quantum dots as midinfrared emitters
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- “People are interested in the mid-infrared,” Dan Wasserman tells PhysOrg.com. Infrared light has a wavelength longer than visible light, and many molecules have numerous very strong optical resonances in the ...
Tiny whispering gallery: Sensor can detect a single nanoparticle and take its measurement
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Nanotechnology has already made it to the shelves of your local pharmacy and grocery: nanoparticles are found in anti-odor socks, makeup, makeup remover, sunscreen, anti-graffiti paint, home ...
Fine-tuned: A wholly new approach to tuning a laser's frequency
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 30 years, scientists have been trying to harness the power of terahertz radiation. Tucked between microwaves and infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum, terahertz rays ...
Compressing photonic signals for greater bandwidth
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Cornell researchers have developed an ingenious method to time-compress optical signals. The process could enable optical communication systems to carry many more bits per second or could also be used to generate ...
Mantis shrimps could show us the way to a better DVD
Oct 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The remarkable eyes of a marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD and CD players, according to a new study from the University of Bristol published today in Nature Photonics.
Chinese scientists create metamaterial black hole
Oct 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Two physicists in China have used metamaterials to create the first artificial electromagnetic black hole. The scientists, Qiang Cheng and Tie Jun Cui from the Southeast University in Nanjing, ...
A road of no return: Team implements the first '1-way roads' for light
Oct 08, 2009 |
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Light readily bounces off obstacles in its path. Some of these reflections are captured by our eyes, thus participating in the visual perception of the objects around us. In contrast to this usual behavior ...
Perfect image without metamaterials... and a reprieve for silicon chips (w/ Video)
Sep 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Since 2000, John Pendry's work on metamaterials has been at the van guard of efforts to create a perfect image - images with perfect resolution that can stem from light being moved in odd ...
Time Lens Speeds Up Optical Data Transmission
Sep 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Cornell University have developed a device called a "time lens" which is a silicon device for speeding up optical data. The basic components of this device are an optical-fiber ...
Discovery brings new type of fast computers closer to reality
Sep 27, 2009 |
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Physicists at UC San Diego have successfully created speedy integrated circuits with particles called "excitons" that operate at commercially cold temperatures, bringing the possibility of a new type of extremely ...
