Photonics

Illustration of the process of light scattering inside the cavity directly to the waveguide through interaction between the optical and mechanical domains. Credit: André Garcia Primo/UNICAMP A groundbreaking study introduces advanced nanometric optomechanical cavities, paving the way for more efficient quantum networks and improving quantum computing and communication technologies. The ability to transmit information coherently in the band of the electromagnetic spectrum from microwave to infrared is vitally important to…

Illustration of the core of the photonic cavity that was fabricated as two halves that assembled themselves into one unit. The cavity confines light inside the gap, which is only a few atoms wide as indicated in the field of view of the magnifying glass. Credit: Thor A. S. Weis In a new Nature paper, two nanotechnology approaches converge by employing a new generation of fabrication technology. It combines the scalability of semiconductor technology with the atomic dimensions enabled by self-assembly. A central goal in…

New advanced photonic chips have been developed that optimize light transmission for optical wireless systems. These chips, essential for future 5G and 6G networks, represent a shift towards energy-efficient analog technologies and have wide-ranging applications in high-speed data processing and communication. Credit: Politecnico di Milano A new breakthrough in optical wireless technology features photonic chips that efficiently shape light for improved data transmission, pivotal for the advancement of future wireless…

Petr Steindl, a quantum physicist, specializes in creating intricate light structures with single photons, exploring the possibilities of quantum optics and its applications in technology. Petr Steindl creates complex structures of light using single photons. As a teenager, he wanted to study Czech poetry but decided on quantum physics after all. Recently he earned his PhD after defending his thesis on quantum optics and quantum dot systems. “Looking back, I am glad I switched fields.” “Simply speaking, a quantum dot is…

Researchers have developed the first fiber laser that can produce femtosecond pulses in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Credit: Jérôme Lapointe Technology advance lays groundwork for reliable, compact ultrafast lasers for biomedical applications and more. Researchers have recently developed the first fiber laser capable of producing femtosecond pulses in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This advancement holds potential for various biomedical and material processing applications. The…

Researchers have developed SmartDope, an autonomous system capable of rapidly identifying the best materials for electronic and photonic devices, addressing a longstanding challenge in quantum dot synthesis. SmartDope operates as a self-driving lab, conducting experiments in a continuous flow reactor and utilizing machine learning to optimize quantum dot production. In just one day, it surpassed the previous quantum yield record, showcasing the potential of self-driving labs for accelerating material science. Credit:…

A team of researchers from the University of Twente has successfully illustrated that quantum mechanics and thermodynamics can coexist by using an optical chip with photon channels. The channels individually showed disorder in line with thermodynamics, while the overall system complied with quantum mechanics due to the entanglement of subsystems, proving that information can be preserved and transferred. Credit: University of TwenteIt seems quantum mechanics and thermodynamics cannot be true simultaneously. In a new…

A team of researchers designed a two-dimensional photonic time crystal that they say could have applications in technologies like transmitters and lasers.What Is Carbon Capture? With Gizmodo’s Molly Taft | TechmodoDespite their name, photonic time crystals have little in common with time crystals, a phase of matter first proposed in 2012 and observed several years later. The fundamental commonality is that both crystals have structural patterns over time, but time crystals are quantum materials—the atoms are suspended in…

The Apple Watch Series 8 was a bit of a boring release for Apple’s wearable, as it wasn’t a huge upgrade over the Apple Watch Series 7; Apple seemed to spend more energy focusing on the Apple Watch Ultra instead. The only real upgrades for the Series 8 were the newer-generation S8 chip and a new body temperature sensor, though the use cases for that are pretty limited. But if you didn’t have a Series 7, then the Apple Watch Series 8 was still a great upgrade for those coming from older models. We’re still a few…

Six months after researchers from Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) set a new data transfer record of 1.02 petabits per second, a team of researchers from the Technical University of Denmark and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden has shattered that record, hitting 1.84 Pbit/s with a new chip that uses just a single laser. That’s the equivalent of moving “twice the total global Internet traffic,” all in one second.Although many of us now have internet connections at…