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    • Optics

    The laserfocusworld.com Optics channel features articles and other content that discuss precision optical components, systems, and applications.

    Highlights

    (Photo credit: Artiom Skripka)
    Artiom Skripka in front of a fume hood where the scientists synthesize their nanomaterials.
    Optics

    Optically bistable nanocrystals?

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Feb. 20, 2025
    Scientists discover a robust and scalable nanomaterial can act as a binary optical switch or a tiny memory unit—and this all-optical process can be controlled to store information...
    (Photo credit: Mikko Raskinen)
    Professor Hele Savin (left) and her group used the Micronova micro- and nanofabrication center at Aalto University to fabricate their germanium infrared photodiodes.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Black germanium boosts infrared photodiode responsivity

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Feb. 19, 2025
    Researchers create a germanium infrared photodiode that’s 35% more responsive at 1.55 µm—a common wavelength for telecommunications—than its other germanium and indium gallium...
    ID 190381515 © Funtap P | Dreamstime.com
    dreamstime_xxl_190381515
    Executive Forum

    Can silicon photonics overcome scaling challenges for AI and data centers?

    René Jonker
    Feb. 13, 2025
    Scaling silicon photonics for AI and data centers faces innovation hurdles in four key areas: Energy efficiency, manufacturing and packaging, ecosystem development, and cost optimizatio...
    (Photo credit: Chromacity)
    FIGURE 1. A Chromacity engineer aligns an ultrafast fiber laser with second-harmonic generation.
    Lasers & Sources

    Ultrafast lasers drive nonlinear microscopy, environmental sensing, and quantum technologies

    Wojciech Gora
    Feb. 10, 2025
    Fiber-based ultrafast lasers—with pulses of one-tenth of one-trillionth of a second—continue to evolve, and near-term advances will expand their use to materials processing, nonlinear...
    (Image credit: iGii)
    Gii: A pure, porous three-dimensional carbon nanostructure poised to revolutionize sensing.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Breakthrough material for broadband photodetectors: Gii

    Des Gibson
    Feb. 6, 2025
    A sustainable carbon nanomaterial “Gii” is poised to revolutionize broadband photodetectors because it can absorb the full spectrum of light—from ultraviolet to infrared.

    Recommended

    (Image credit: Corning)
    corning
    Optics

    Optical glass for microchips withstands EUV lithography

    Corning Inc
    Jan. 12, 2025
    EXTREME ULE (ultra-low expansion) titania-silicate glass material features near-zero expansion characteristics.
    (Image credit: MRSI Mycronic)
    mrsi_mycronic
    Lasers & Sources

    Epoxy dispenser provides 25-µm standard accuracy

    Dec. 11, 2024
    The MRSI-175Ag epoxy dispenser has multiple dispensing methods and materials.
    (Image credit: B. Ko et al., Adv. Funct. Mater.; doi:10.1002/adfm.202410613)
    External cooling performance of the radiative cooler.
    Optics

    Clear cooling film regulates solar heat

    Justine Murphy
    Dec. 6, 2024
    A transparent film based on radiative cooling could someday help regulate solar heat for environmental applications and architecture.
    FIGURE 1. Schematic of a system used to analyze carbon disulfide (CS2) Kerr gate [3]. It highlights the importance of polarizing sheets (magenta dotted boxes) and ND filters (blue dotted boxes).
    Optics

    Optical transmission of polaroid sheet polarizers and neutral-density filters

    Michael Pena
    Dec. 5, 2024
    Neutral-density (ND) filters and polarizers are two common optical components for applications within the visible and near-infrared (NIR) ranges. We measured light transmission...
    (Illustration by Rafael Barros/Tampere University)
    The reflection of a twisted light field from an object reveals the topological aberration effect.
    Optics

    Hidden deformations within complex light fields?

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Dec. 4, 2024
    By carefully observing aberrations of a complex light field reflected from a surface, its refractive index and thickness can be inferred.