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  • Volume 59, Issue 06

    • Volume 59, Issue 06

    (From C. Ancuti, C. O. Ancuti, C. De Vleeschouwer, and A. C. Bovik [4])
    A dehazed image by global light estimation.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Airlight estimation for simultaneous day and night image dehazing applications

    Bhawna Goyal
    May 19, 2023
    Image dehazing is an important area of research used for security, surveillance, and outdoor imaging. Getting rid of haze from pictures taken at night is hard because there is...
    FIGURE 1. Cleanroom for automation manufacture of the NUBURU second-generation laser.
    Laser Processing

    Industrial blue lasers reach milestone to solve metal processing challenges

    Matthew Philpott
    May 18, 2023
    A second-generation blue laser system uses new manufacturing techniques to offer a laser system compatible with galvo scanners that is more compact, reliable, and production-scalable...
    Photo 155122032 © Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com
    Dreamstime Xxl 155122032
    Commentary

    Industry or community

    Peter Fretty
    May 15, 2023
    The sense of community is always present at the larger trade shows like SPIE Photonics West each year and then again at the LASER World of PHOTONICS event in Munich every other...
    (Courtesy of Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
    FIGURE 1. A biosensor system developed by a team at Israel’s Agricultural Research Organization–Volcani Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem can detect and monitor continuously, and in real time, infections in potatoes before they’ve grown to the surface.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Biosensors: A tool to combat food waste

    Justine Murphy
    May 5, 2023
    A growing global population and climate change are prompting scientists to explore new ways to reduce food loss and waste. A top candidate? Biosensors.
    Electron microscope image of the DTU group’s sample, showing two different topological crystals.
    Optics

    Photonic topological insulators show no protection against backscattering

    Sally Cole Johnson
    May 4, 2023
    Researchers in Denmark discovered that for a waveguide to offer on-chip backscattering protection, the topological insulator must be made of materials that break time-reversal...

    More content from Volume 59, Issue 06

    (Image credit: Viktar Asadchy)
    2306 Lfw Scj Hero
    Optics

    2D photonic time crystal metasurfaces?

    Sally Cole Johnson
    May 2, 2023
    Researchers have crafted 2D photonic time crystals: an ultrathin metasurface that’s a time-based version of conventional optical materials.
    (Image credit: MantiSpectra)
    MantiSpectra's ChipSense spectral sensor on a chip.
    Test & Measurement

    Photonic sensor technology inches towards consumer applications

    Peter Fretty
    May 1, 2023
    Dutch photonics company MantiSpectra walks away with a prestigious Hermes Award for its breakthrough material sensor.
    (Photo credit: Fraunhofer ILT, Aachen, Germany)
    Using custom optics, the laser radiates a larger area on the copper foil coated with graphite paste. The interaction between the graphite particles and the light energy generates heat and the liquid evaporates.
    Executive Forum

    Finding efficiencies and improving performance fuel Fraunhofer ILT research efforts

    Peter Fretty
    April 26, 2023
    As startups and global transportation manufacturers continue to explore and make commitments to expand e-mobility, improving batteries ultimately takes center stage.
    (Courtesy of the Busani Research Group)
    FIGURE 1. The Busani Research Group’s AFM probe for semiconductor patterning, equipped with an aluminum nitrate laser nanowire used as a lithographic tip, allows traditional laser scanning to be performed along with spectroscopy to record the fluorescence signal of the material.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Combining laser scanning and spectroscopy for enhanced nanolithography patterning

    Jim McMahon
    April 25, 2023
    An AFM probe for semiconductor patterning, equipped with an aluminum nitrate laser nanowire used as a lithographic tip, allows traditional laser scanning to be performed along...
    (Courtesy of AdValue Photonics)
    AdValue Photonics' glass fabrication process.
    Executive Forum

    Fiber laser innovations for diverse markets

    Jose Pozo
    April 24, 2023
    In this interview, Jose Pozo, Optica’s CTO, talks to AdValue Photonics CEO Michael Mielke about his career and the company.
    (Courtesy of Ian Shih, UNC School of Medicine)
    FIGURE 1. The experimental fMRI-fiber photometry platform could offer a deeper understanding of the dynamic properties of brain states and their relationship to behaviors.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Spectrally resolved fiber photometry system enables exploring the brain’s networks

    Justine Murphy
    April 24, 2023
    An optical fiber-based platform may lead to brain network-based treatment regimens for neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders.
    Schematic illustration of light-induced ultrafast lattice response in 2D perovskites. An ultrashort laser pulse creates a high density of electron-hole plasma, which triggers a relaxation of the lattice distortion via reduced octahedral tilt.
    Optics

    Ultrafast electron diffraction at SLAC helps demystify 2D perovskites

    Sally Cole Johnson
    April 21, 2023
    Thanks to ultrafast electron diffraction at SLAC National Lab, researchers captured a change of structural response in 2D perovskites: a relaxation of lattice distortion initiated...
    (Courtesy of Efren Gumayan, Ateneo de Manila University)
    FIGURE 1. A new process that turns crab shells into a bioplastic can be used to make optical components such as diffraction gratings (shown in the tweezers).
    Optics

    Turning crab shells into lightweight diffraction gratings

    Justine Murphy
    April 20, 2023
    Researchers in the Philippines developed a way to turn discarded crab shells into biodegradable diffraction gratings with a higher refractive index than silicone.
    (Courtesy of Edmund Optics)
    2306 Lfw Whe F
    Lasers & Sources

    Basics of ultrafast lasers: Part 2

    Olivia Wheeler
    April 19, 2023
    This article is the second part of a two-part series focused on ultrafast lasers.
    FIGURE 1. The fly-eyes relay optical schematic.
    Optics

    Design of a multichannel illumination optical system

    Lev Ryzhikov
    April 18, 2023
    This article provides a look at how the use of a “fly-eyes” relay optical system could help solve difficult semiconductor applications.
    (Photo credit: TRUMPF)
    Clean room manufacturing at TRUMPF.
    Executive Forum

    Building a bridge between the industrial and consumer markets

    Antonio Castelo
    April 13, 2023
    In this interview, EPIC’s Antonio Castelo talks to Berthold Schmidt, CEO of TRUMPF Photonic Components.
    (Image credit: Ryan Allen)
    Integrated thin-film lithium niobate visible electro-optic modulators, where electrical pulses applied to the gold electrodes enable high-frequency intensity modulation of input light with low drive voltages (~1 V).
    Optics

    Researchers design electro-optic modulators for visible to near-infrared wavelengths

    Sally Cole Johnson
    April 12, 2023
    A new type of electro-optic modulator controls the shorter, visible wavelengths of the optical spectrum—and breaks limits on how fast and efficiently visible modulators can operate...
    (Photo credit: Lei Gong's Lab, University of Science and Technology of China)
    Panpan Yu (left) and Lei Gong in the lab, working on their 3D-SDH project, observe the speckle light field behind a scattering medium. The speckle field helps break the depth-control limit of holographic projection.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Researchers exploit disordered scattering to improve depth control for holograms

    Sally Cole Johnson
    April 7, 2023
    A 3D holography technique overcomes limitations of currently available digital holography methods to provide a big improvement—more than three orders of magnitude—in depth resolution...
    (Courtesy of SMART)
    Researchers’ continued study of plant hormones are paving the way for breakthroughs in agricultural science and may have implications for global food security.
    Test & Measurement

    Nanosensor breakthrough enhances agricultural science

    Justine Murphy
    April 6, 2023
    The study of plant hormones via carbon nanosensor technology could impact plant growth and health, and may someday address rising global food security concerns.