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Episode 79 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features our Light News photonics news roundup for November 25, 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
Credit: Na Chen, Hanchao Teng, and Hai Hu
Illustration of nanolight pseudo-birefringence. Credit: Na Chen, Hanchao Teng, and Hai Hu
Credit: Chalmers University of Technology
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Credit: Precitec
Gwenn Pallier, product line manager at Cailabs (left), and Markus Kogel-Hollacher, head of R&D projects at Precitec (right).
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Learning Resources

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Discover how to design and analyze sophisticated optical waveguides using COMSOL Multiphysics® in this hands-on webinar. Learn how to build complex structures, evaluate mode fields...
Jan. 29, 2026
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Ultrafast lasers enable rapid cancer diagnosis with simultaneous two- and three-photon imaging.
Oct. 15, 2025
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This paper reviews advances in precision motion control for photonics alignment and laser material processing, highlighting micro-hole drilling, new control algorithms, and hybrid...
Oct. 15, 2025
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Unlock the science behind the world's fastest data. From the photophone's dawn to modern WDM systems, master the core principles of fiber optics and future-proof your communication...
Oct. 10, 2025

Lasers/Sources

Credit: Miriam Serena Vitiello
In the lab with their setup (from left to right): Dr. Alejandro Justo Guerrero, Dr. Alessandra Di Gaspare, Dr. Vladimir Pusharev, Professor Miriam Serena Vitiello, Dr. Lili Shi, and Dr. Leonardo Viti. Credit: Miriam Serena Vitiello
Researchers enable second and third harmonic generation via topological insulator-based van der Waals metamaterials.
Nov. 19, 2025
Credit: S. Yang, K. Yang, Q. Chevy, A. Kepecs, and S. Hu, Nat. Neurosci. (2025); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-02106-x
An ultrafast laser writes microscopic grating emitters inside a hair-thin optical fiber to enable panoramic and reconfigurable neural modulation. Credit: S. Yang, K. Yang, Q. Chevy, A. Kepecs, and S. Hu, Nat. Neurosci. (2025); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-02106-x
To explore complex brain circuits, researchers can now use a single fiber to direct light into 1,000 different directions akin to a controllable tiny disco ball within the brain...
Nov. 13, 2025
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Episode 76 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Dr. Tara Fortier, a project leader in the Time and Frequency Division at NIST.
Nov. 4, 2025
Credit: Michael Dobinson
Dark-field microscope image of a diode nanocavity device with a grating coupler (left) for optical excitation/collection and electrical connections to the p-i-n diode (top/bottom). Credit: Michael Dobinson
Beyond being a source of single photons, dual optical and electrical control of nanophotonic devices may enable scaling up to larger systems of quantum emitters on a single chip...
Oct. 30, 2025

Optics

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Episode 78 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Part One of our interview with Dr. Aydogan Ozcan, Chancellor's Professor at UCLA and HHMI Professor at Howard...
Nov. 18, 2025
Schematic of a birefringent metasurface creating four point spread functions (PSFs) for each polarization channel to provide eight total phase-diversity captures within a single shot.
The optical system uses a nanostructured birefringent metasurface to detect atmospheric turbulence, which poses a challenge for free-space optical comms systems.
Nov. 14, 2025
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Episode 77 of Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast features Lee Steneken, president of Esco Optics.
Nov. 11, 2025
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Copackaged optics (CPO) can meet the urgent needs of artificial intelligence (AI)—but it must be deployed wisely and at scale to balance the performance, sustainability, and resilience...
Nov. 3, 2025

Quantum

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Here's a look back at three articles covering work involving quantum entanglement, which Albert Einstein famously viewed as “spooky action at a distance.”
Oct. 31, 2025
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The real question is: Which combination provides balanced near-term capability, risk mitigation, and long-term strategic positioning for defense in depth? And for the photonics...
Oct. 29, 2025
Credit: A. K. Demir et al., Nat. Photon., 19, 1006–1012 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-025-01712-2
FIGURE 1. The crystal structure of CrSBr1; arrows depict the spin orientation of the layer in the ground state.2 Credit: A. K. Demir et al., Nat. Photon., 19, 1006–1012 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-025-01712-2
A van der Waals antiferromagnet, CrSBr, offers unprecedented magnetically driven control of optical properties and reveals how quantum materials could enable a new class of reconfigurab...
Oct. 27, 2025
Credit: University of Trento
FIGURE 1. Measurement setup at Professor Lobino’s quantum lab at the University of Trento; the chip is inside an oven to control its temperature, while electric signals reach the device through the black SMA cable. Credit: University of Trento
Case study: An Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics project team relies on laser measurement technology to analyze the output mode of an integrated quantum device.
Oct. 22, 2025

Test/Measurement

False color picture of the watermark of a €20 bank note, showing the amplitude of the transmitted terahertz electrical field signal with varying optical parameters of the material; the highest amplitude is shown in red, and the lowest in blue. The image was recorded by Menlo Systems’ TERA K15 THz-TDS system with TERA Image imaging extension unit and ImageLab processing software.
Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy has undergone a quiet evolution and is now moving from research labs onto production lines.
Oct. 30, 2025
Credit: Sheetak
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The QOOLSENSE compact thermal test chamber has use in photonic component and optical sensor development.
Oct. 20, 2025
Credit: Zygo
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The 0.5X ZWF widefield objective is designed for use with the company's noncontact optical profiler product line.
Oct. 16, 2025
Credit: Teledyne DALSA
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The Z-Trak Express 1K5 3D laser profiler series delivers high-speed 3D inspection with real-time processing.
Oct. 12, 2025

Detectors/Imaging

Credit: Vincenzo Pecunia
Credit: Vincenzo Pecunia
Photodetectors are evolving and diversifying so rapidly that a team of academia and industry photonics experts created “Consensus Statement” guidelines to consistently measure...
Nov. 20, 2025
Credit: Andrew Choi
The University of Sydney team from left to right: Dr. Jueming Bing, Tik Lun (Peter) Leung, Dr. Guoliang Wang, Professor Anita Ho-Baillie, Runmin Tao, and Dr. Chris Bailey. Credit: Andrew Choi
Perovskites are pushing solar cell efficiencies beyond the limits of silicon alone. By re-engineering perovskite’s chemistry and triple-junction cell design, researchers set a...
Oct. 23, 2025
Credit: e-con Systems
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The RouteCAM_CU86 4K HDR GigE camera has uses in smart surveillance, intersection monitoring, gaming analytics, and dental lighting systems.
Oct. 18, 2025
Credit: FlexEnable
FIGURE 1. Three types of dimming: Global, pixelated, and segmented.
Key dimmer parameters such as transmission range, dimmer color, uniformity, and reliability must be considered to ensure augmented reality (AR) glasses provide the expected quality...
Oct. 8, 2025

Executive Forum

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Nov. 5, 2025
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Oct. 6, 2025
Credit: Lumotive
From warehouse floors to the cloud, Lumotive’s LCM technology bridges the physical and digital worlds through software-defined light.
Sept. 26, 2025
Credit: Singular Photonics
Singular Photonics’ Andarta sensor.
Sept. 10, 2025