photonics tagged posts

Computers are an indispensable part of our daily lives, and the need for ones that can work faster, solve complex problems more efficiently, and leave smaller environmental footprints by minimizing the required energy for computation is increasingly urgent. Recent progress in photonics has shown that it’s possible to achieve more efficient computing through optical devices that use interactions between metamaterials and light waves to apply mathematical operations of interest on the input signals, and even solve complex mathematical problems...

A novel topological edge soliton developed for nonlinear photorefractive lattices enables robust light beams is promising for photonic technology. Diffraction is a natural property of light beams. It allows light to bend around obstacles. Because light serves as a carrier of information, some of the distorting effects of diffraction must be mitigated for many technological applications. Topological insulators, first unveiled in condensed matter physics, have attracted interest for over a decade. A photonic topological insulator can help ensure consistent propagation of a light beam along its edges...

Thin structures made of black phosphorus can tune the properties of light, with implications for science and technology. Most of us control light all the time without even thinking about it, usually in mundane ways: we don a pair of sunglasses and put on sunscreen, and close — or open — our window blinds.

But the control of light can also come in high-tech forms. The screen of the computer, tablet, or phone on which you are reading this is one example. Another is telecommunications, which controls light to create signals that carry data along fiber-optic cables.

Scientists also use high-tech methods to control light in the laboratory, and now, thanks to a new breakthrough that uses a specialized material only three atoms thick, they can control light more precisely than ever bef...

Scientists have discovered an elegant way of manipulating light using a “synthetic” Lorentz force — which in nature is responsible for many fascinating phenomena including the Aurora Borealis.

A team of theoretical physicists from the University of Exeter has pioneered a new technique to create tuneable artificial magnetic fields, which enable photons to mimic the dynamics of charged particles in real magnetic fields.

The team believe the new research, published in leading journal Nature Photonics, could have important implications for future photonic devices as it provides a novel way of manipulating light below the diffraction limit.

When charged particles, like electrons, pass through a magnetic field they feel a Lorentz force due to their electric charge, which curves the...