• Back Issues >
  • Laser Focus World >
  • Volume 59, Issue 02
  • Volume 59, Issue 02

    (Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University)
    With their new technique, the researchers viewed a zebrafish larvae, capturing whole-body volumetric recordings of its neural activity.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Mesoscopic imaging method offers unprecedented cell views

    Jan. 19, 2023
    A new type of light-sheet microscopy provides a more comprehensive, distinct look than ever before at natural cell interactions.
    (Courtesy of Osaka Metropolitan University)
    A new system allows researchers to control a nematode worm with light-sensitive proteins (opsins) triggered by white, UV, and green.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Controlling nematode behavior with light

    Jan. 18, 2023
    A new optogenetics-based system using various wavelengths of light is poised to significantly accelerate bio-related research.
    (Courtesy of OpenLight)
    OpenLight's 800G DR8 photonic integrated circuit design.
    Optics

    Driving the era of silicon photonics with integrated lasers

    Jan. 17, 2023
    Silicon photonics with integrated gain can open the door to a scale not previously achievable, giving rise to newer applications once promised to electronics.
    Photo 173143442 © Elen33 | Dreamstime.com
    Dreamstime Xxl 173143442
    Commentary

    Is quantum still emerging?

    Jan. 13, 2023
    Is quantum still emerging? Of course it is, and it will continue to be until it’s fully commercialized.
    (Courtesy of O. Katz/Duke University)
    FIGURE 1. The NASDUCK Floquet quantum detector for ultralight axion-like dark matter contains a strong, magnetically driven Floquet field, BF, which interacts with the background dark matter halo of the Milky Way. Inside the chamber a small cubical glass cell containing dense spin-polarized 129Xe gas and 85Rb vapor acts as an in situ precision optical magnetometer. One laser optically pumps the spins of Rb atoms while a second laser probes the coherent spin oscillations that can be generated by a non-gravitational interaction with the axion-like dark matter particles. The results help constrain the mass limits of dark-matter particles in interactions with other particles.
    Detectors & Imaging

    New detectors solve age-old problems

    Jan. 13, 2023
    Advances in novel detectors are solving the most elusive mysteries in science—from quantum teleportation to neutrinos and dark matter.

    More content from Volume 59, Issue 02

    Credit: NASA/Guo, Jogee, Finkelstein and CEERS collaboration/University of Texas at Austin
    FIGURE 1. The power of JWST to map galaxies at high resolution and at longer infrared lengths than Hubble allows it to look through dust to unveil the underlying structure and mass of distant galaxies. This can be seen in these two images of the galaxy EGS-23205, seen as it was about 11 billion years ago. In the HST image (left, taken in the near-infrared filter), the galaxy is little more than a disk-shaped smudge obscured by dust and impacted by the glare of young stars, but in the corresponding JWST mid-infrared image (taken last summer), it’s a beautiful spiral galaxy with a clear stellar bar.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Webb’s infrared images reveal surprising Milky Way-ish galaxies in early Universe

    Jan. 12, 2023
    Infrared images from Webb are revealing galaxies with stellar bars—elongated features of stars stretching from the centers of galaxies into their outer disks—at a time when the...
    Myung-Ki Kim, an associate professor at Korea University’s Light Engineering Laboratory.
    Science & Research

    Faces in Photonics: Myung-Ki Kim, Korea University

    Jan. 11, 2023
    Meet Myung-Ki Kim, an associate professor at Korea University’s Light Engineering Laboratory.
    FIGURE 1. An overview illustration of the planarized waveguide platform embedded within a low-loss polymer (BCB), with active (left) and passive (right) waveguides co-integrated on the same photonic chip.
    Optics

    Terahertz photonic circuits possible with active and passive components

    Jan. 11, 2023
    A novel platform integrates terahertz photonics with planarized low-loss polymers—enabling signal propagation with passive elements and coherent source integration for broadband...
    (Courtesy of POET Technologies)
    2302 Lfw Van Hero
    Optics

    Now is the time to ‘semiconductorize’ photonics

    Jan. 10, 2023
    Photonics can help the semiconductor industry move at the speed of light.
    Photo 94764510 © Wayback12 | Dreamstime.com
    Dreamstime Xxl 94764510
    Executive Forum

    Precisely enabling application evolution

    Jan. 9, 2023
    Aerotech’s Brian O’Connor discusses the importance of precision motion control and how his company is navigating the ever-challenging supply environment.
    (Photo credit: University of Queensland)
    The new handheld, smartphone-operated near-infrared spectrometer shines infrared light on a person’s skin to detect the presence of malaria.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Noninvasive technique hastens malaria detection

    Jan. 9, 2023
    A new spectrometer tool could enhance universal surveillance of malaria and someday guide existing efforts to eliminate the disease.
    FIGURE 1. Schematic representation of the welding experiment where the laser is focused at the interface between the top and bottom materials and is raster-scanned to weld a large area. A lateral-view infrared (IR) image of a welded spot showing how the produced modification crosses the interface (left) and an IR image of a welded area consisting of a serpentine shape (right) are shown.
    Laser Processing

    Laser welding for semiconductors

    Jan. 6, 2023
    Semiconductors were the only materials that couldn’t be bonded using lasers, but a new solution taps compact nanosecond fiber sources emitting in the infrared domain. This breakthrough...
    (Image credit: Haoqui Zhao)
    FIGURE 1. One potential application of the hyperdimensional microlaser chip is as a satellite-to-satellite high-dimensional quantum link.
    Lasers & Sources

    Quantum communications get added dimensions, thanks to microlaser chip

    Jan. 4, 2023
    A hyperdimensional microlaser chip that communicates via qudits doubles the quantum information space of previous on-chip lasers—improving security and robustness far beyond existing...
    Team (left to right): Okky Daulay, Kaixuan Ye, Roel Botter, Peter van der Slot, David Marpaung, and Yvan Klaver.
    Fiber Optics

    Researchers harness SBS effect in a silicon nitride platform

    Jan. 3, 2023
    By integrating a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) component with microwave photonics functional modules into one circuit, researchers built a fully integrated microwave photonic...
    (Courtesy of Andre Daccache, UC Davis)
    Red spectrum shone over tomatoes in an agrivoltaic system.
    Science & Research

    Sustainably producing food, clean energy is possible with light

    Dec. 27, 2022
    Using a photosynthesis-based model, researchers are working to better understand how light could boost agrivoltaics and clean energy production.
    (Courtesy of University of Texas at Arlington)
    A team led by researcher Dr. Hanli Liu (right) is currently developing a dual-mode brain sensing device that pairs near-IR spectroscopy with EEG for quicker, more accurate detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Dual-mode brain sensing device could detect Alzheimer’s quicker

    Dec. 22, 2022
    A new combination method pairing spectroscopy and EEG could lead to better, more effective treatments for the brain diseases.