• Home >
  • Back Issues >
  • Laser Focus World >
  • Volume 62, Issue 02

    • Volume 62, Issue 02

    More content from Volume 62, Issue 02

    Traditional optics are fixed in functionality. The future is programmable optics, where a single chip can be programmed with any optical function.
    Active metasurfaces are ushering in a new era of programmable optics.
    Jan. 30, 2026
    Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University
    Spin size affects the way the system behaves. At spin-1/2, fully quantum spins pair up and cancel each other out (no magnetism). Spins >1/2 create magnetic order (magnetism).
    Researchers discover a single quantum parameter—the size of its spin—acts as a switch that flips its magnetism. This discovery offers a new way to think about how quantum states...
    Jan. 29, 2026
    Credit: TOPTICA Photonics
    FIGURE 1. Illustration of tunable diode lasers and adjacent technologies manufactured by TOPTICA Photonics for quantum applications, along with wavelength coverage and available output powers.
    By leveraging tunable diode lasers and a synergetic combination of public and private investments and partnerships, the industry can speed development and adoption of photonic...
    Jan. 28, 2026
    Credit: KAIST
    (L-R) Junyong Choi, Woonsong Jeong, Jungwon Kim, and Jihoon Baek inside the antenna receiver room at KVN Pyeongchang radio telescope.
    Researchers apply the precision of optical frequency combs to radio telescopes to synchronize the observation timing and phase of faint cosmic signals—and lay the foundation for...
    Jan. 27, 2026
    Credit: Bernard Lee
    FIGURE 1. Drivers of the optical network evolution.
    How can we unlock the full potential of optical networks? Critical innovations are emerging, but closing technical, commercial, and operational gaps will require focused industry...
    Jan. 23, 2026
    Credit: Yufeng Zhang
    Yufeng Zhang in the team's lab.
    An international team of researchers demonstrates single-shot tensor computing—at the speed of light—and opens the door to next-gen AI hardware powered by optical computation....
    Jan. 8, 2026
    Credit: Purdue University/Kevin Crisp
    Professor Vladimir Shalaev with the team’s optical setup. Credit: Purdue University/Kevin Crisp
    Purdue University researchers demonstrate a photonic transistor at single-photon intensities—and solve a long-standing roadblock to photonic computing.
    Dec. 19, 2025
    Credit: Alex Demkov
    A 200-mm barium titanate (BaTiO3) wafer from La Luce Cristallina.
    AI, quantum computing, and ultralow-power networking are poised to transform the technology ecosystem, and barium titanate offers a pathway to industrial scalability.
    Dec. 18, 2025
    Credit: Photonic Inc.
    Silicon T center structure.
    Scaling “up and out” is driving a wave of innovation in quantum photonics because the interplay between qubit platforms and photonic integration is central to system design.
    Dec. 15, 2025
    Credit: Mikael Nyberg
    Part of the team’s reflectivity k-space setup. Credit: Mikael Nyberg
    You bet—and these photodiodes provide tunability and record-level sensitivity for ultrathin devices.
    Nov. 26, 2025
    Credit: Kunyan Zhang/University of California, Berkeley
    A two-layer Janus TMD converts light through second harmonic generation (SHG), in which the material emits light at twice the frequency of the incoming beam (left). The SHG beam usually forms a six-pointed flower shape, but certain wavelengths of light distort it. Upper right: Symmetrical flower pattern in gray and asymmetrical SHG signal pattern in red. Lower right: Optical image of a sample. Credit: Kunyan Zhang/University of California, Berkeley
    Shining light on Janus transition metal dichalcogenides creates directional forces within the material, which show up in second harmonic generation patterns.
    Nov. 25, 2025
    Credit: Na Chen, Hanchao Teng, and Hai Hu
    Illustration of nanolight pseudo-birefringence. Credit: Na Chen, Hanchao Teng, and Hai Hu
    The quest for ultracompact light-based chips just got a much-needed momentum boost, thanks to a two-step excitation method that pushes polaritons beyond the conventional limitations...
    Nov. 24, 2025