Tag: photonics
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Earthquake on a Chip: How Phonon Lasers Could Make Mobile Devices More Efficient
What is the “Earthquake on a Chip” concept? Engineers are exploring a daring idea: generate tiny, earthquake-like vibrations on the surface of a microchip to process signals more efficiently. Dubbed the “earthquake on a chip,” this concept leverages phonons—units of vibrational energy that travel as waves through a solid—and couples them with laser-like control to…
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3D-Printed Helixes Pave the Way for THz Optical Materials in Next-Gen Telecom
Introduction: A Terahertz Gap Gets Narrower Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are advancing a promising solution to the long-standing terahertz (THz) gap that hampers next-generation telecommunications. By designing, optimizing, and 3D-printing helical structures, LLNL scientists are crafting optical materials that can manipulate THz waves with unprecedented control. This approach could unlock faster data…
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A Camera That Snaps a Trillionth of a Second: The vsPDF Breakthrough Explained
Introducing the vsPDF Camera: A New Era in Time-Resolved Science Researchers at Columbia University have unveiled a remarkable tool that pushes the boundaries of how we observe fast processes in materials. The device, based on the variable-shutter pair distribution function (vsPDF), can capture events at speeds once thought impossible for conventional cameras. In practical terms,…
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Tiny multilayer metalenses unlock multicolor optics for phones
A breakthrough in tiny, color-rich optics Researchers have unveiled a novel approach to making ultra-thin lenses that can simultaneously focus multiple wavelengths from unpolarised light, with potential workhorse applications in phones, drones, and other portable imaging devices. The key advance is a multi-layer, metamaterial-based metalens system that uses a stack of carefully engineered layers to…
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Precision Electron Steering in Graphene with Ultrafast Pulses
Overview In a breakthrough study from Kiel University, researchers demonstrate a new way to control electrons in graphene using ultrashort laser pulses. For the first time, Dr. Jan-Philip Joost and Professor Michael Bonitz show that light pulses can induce electrons at highly specific locations within graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon. By simulating laser interactions…
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Molecular Coating Cleaned Up Noisy Quantum Light for Quantum Tech
A Breakthrough for Stable Quantum Light Quantum technologies hinge on one unerring rule: every photon must be identical, produced one at a time, with the same energy. Tiny deviations in photon number or energy can derail quantum computers, secure communications, and ultra-precise sensors. Northwestern University engineers have unveiled a practical solution: coating an atomically thin…
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Molecular Coating Cleans Up Noisy Quantum Light
Overview: A simple coating cleans up noisy quantum light Quantum technologies demand perfection: one photon at a time, every time, with identical energy. Tiny deviations in the number or energy of photons can derail devices, threatening the performance of future quantum computers and a potential quantum internet. Northwestern University engineers have devised a novel strategy…