Optical

Scientists in South Korea have created what they call "the world’s smallest ball game," throwing individual atoms between two optical traps. The research could eventually make for more adaptable and dynamic quantum computers.

Engineers have set a new speed record for data transmission through a standard diameter optical fiber. By beaming 55 “modes” of signals down a single-core optical fiber, the team was able to transmit at a data rate of 1.53 petabits per second.

The speed record for data transmission using a single light source and optical chip has been shattered. Engineers have transmitted data at a blistering rate of 1.84 petabits per second (Pbit/s), almost twice the global internet traffic per second.

Physicists at the Australian National University say that optical microscopes should get a huge boost in magnification, after their discovery of a new high harmonic laser illumination technique, using a tiny cylinder 1/50th the width of a human hair.

Researchers have developed a more precise design for "optical tweezers," using a metasurface lens studded with millions of tiny pillars which focus light to trap and manipulate individual atoms. It could pave the way for powerful quantum devices.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have presented some remarkable audio from a new optical microphone system that uses cameras to see and reconstruct sonic vibrations. Remarkably, it can cleanly separate a single instrument playing in a group.

Engineers at MIT have developed a modular computer chip with components that can communicate using flashes of light. This could allow for electronics that can easily be upgraded with new sensors or processors, rather than replacing the whole chip.

A powerful new optical chip can process almost two billion images per second. The device is made up of a neural network that processes information as light without needing components that slow down traditional computer chips, like memory.

When you view the image above, does it look like black smear in the center is expanding? If it does, that means you're like most people – and your brain may even think that you're entering a tunnel, adjusting your eyes accordingly.

Inspired by the dual-focus visual system of a 500-million-year-old trilobite, researchers have created and tested a light field camera with the greatest depth of field ever demonstrated. Everything between 3 cm and 1.7 km from the lens stays sharp.

Scientists have developed a sensor made of incredibly thin strands of sapphire that can withstand extreme heat and radiation, and possibly be put to work in the harsh environment of nuclear fusion reactors and enable more streamlined air travel.

No matter how many times 3D displays emerge and fade, the tech refuses to die. Researchers have now developed a glasses-free 3D display prototype that uses nanostructured lenses to produce more realistic images that can be seen over a longer distance.