A metamaterial has been designed with a switchable metasurface that allows it to either block or transmit light waves in response to light pulses. Developed by researchers at the University of Southampton, the optically switchable metamaterial uses the phase-change medium germanium antimony...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESMiniature Lens Could Enable Fast Transfer of Quantum InformationA tiny camera lens, invented by an international research team led by the Australian National University (ANU), could one day be used to link quantum computers to an optical fiber network. The lens...Photonics Spectra December 2018 IssueDiamond Metalens Could Improve Quantum Device Performance and ScalabilityAt the chemical level, diamonds are no more than carbon atoms aligned in a 3D crystal lattice. Even a diamond that looks flawless contains defects that can absorb or emit light. Small defects in...Photonics Spectra August 2019 IssueUltrathin Optical Cavities Could Streamline, Enhance On-a-Chip Color ProductionA Purdue University-led research team has simplified the manufacturing process that allows utilizing multiple colors at the same time on an electronic chip. By embedding silver metasurfaces —...Photonics Spectra December 2018 IssueMetasurfaces Enable Low-Loss Integrated Photonics PlatformA University of Delaware (UD) research team has designed an integrated photonics platform using metasurfaces. To limit the loss of data, the team fabricated a high-contrast transmitarray (HCTA)-based...Photonics.com 11/12/2019PRODUCTSFast-Axis Collimator LensesFast-axis collimator (FAC) lenses from LIMO GmbH are designed for all types of diode-pumped laser sources. The devices feature acylindrical surfaces and are manufactured from high-grade glass....BioPhotonics May/Jun 2019 IssueReflective AxiconsReflective axicons from Cailabs SAS are optics that improve Bessel beam glass-cutting processes. An axicon is a specialized type of lens with a conical surface to transform a laser beam into a...Photonics.com 7/19/2019Focus Tracking Optical Zoom LensesFocus Tracking Optical Zoom Lenses from Resolve Optics Inc. maintain sharp focus throughout the zoom range of the lens. The mechanical design allows for use in environments subject to...Photonics.com 8/15/2019ObjectivesX Line objectives from Olympus simultaneously boost numerical aperture, flatness, and chromatic correction, providing high image quality. A certain polishing technique produces ultra-thin...BioPhotonics September 2019 IssuePHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESExcimer Optics: High Power Demands High Reliability: The excimer laser’s shift to commercial applications has created a demand for higher power levels and increased reliability from the laser itself, thus creating a greater demand for industrialized optics to control, redirect, reshape and focus the intense UV radiation produced.The first high-reflectance mirror coatings for the UV and vacuum UV (VUV) were of the Al + MgF2 type produced in the late 1950s. Coatings of this design are still used today for multigas cavity...Photonics HandbookNano-Optics: New Rules for Optical Components: Operating in the nano-realm offers designers a host of new opportunities. Understanding what to expect in this miniature world is key to successful nano-optic component design.When physical structures get very small — on the order of molecular or atomic sizes with one or more dimensions on the nanoscale — their behavior and interactions with energy, including...Photonics HandbookPolygonal Laser Scanners: Fitting the Elements to the Task: Polygonal laser scanning is the technology of choice in a variety of applications. It can be used to write information as in laser marking and printing, direct-to-plate imaging, film recording and laser projection; or as a reader for bar code scanning, densitometry, web inspection and agricultural inspection.Reading and writing systems for polygonal scanners differ in the use of the scanner. However, many performance characteristics are similar for both. In writing applications, a light source, usually a...Photonics HandbookLens Aberrations: Avoiding Defects in Imagery: A perfect lens can produce a perfect image. But seven primary lens aberrations can blur or distort the image instead, and they should be considered when creating an optical system.A lens collects light from a point on an object and focuses it to a corresponding conjugate point on an image. Under most conditions, the lens fails at this task because of some error in the...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSKey Considerations when Designing and Implementing an Outdoor-Ready Smart Imaging SystemThe key to a successful all-in-one imaging system is the use of embedded systems – especially when it comes to designing a custom proprietary system. This white paper walks you through key elements...Photonics.com 1/26/2018Replacing Hard to Source and Obsolete Optical ComponentsPeriodically organisations are faced with replacing hard to source or obsolete optical components within their camera, sensor, or instrument systems. It is at this critical point that you have to...Photonics.com 5/24/2019Radiation Resistant LensesDrawing upon approaching 30 years experience — Resolve Optics has built a strong reputation for specialist lens design and manufacture of smaller production quantities of radiation resistant...Photonics.com 5/24/2019Multi-line Lasers Simplify Biomedical ImagingThe introduction of multi-line lasers to fluorescence instrumentation provides a compact, easy-to-use, and service-free solution for integrating up to four laser wavelengths with reliable, stable...Photonics.com 11/13/2019WEBINARSDevelopments in Optics and Optical ComponentsFree Webinar Additional Questions & Answers from the Webinar below: Speakers: Dr. Robert R. McLeod Associate Professor and Graduate Director Electrical, Computer and Energy...Photonics.com 5/29/2013Flat Optics Based on Metasurfaces: Molding Wavefronts and Surface WavesMetasurfaces based on subwavelength patterning have major potential for realizing arbitrary control of the wavefront of diffracted light by achieving local control of the phase amplitude and...Photonics.com 2/26/2015How the Metalens Will Transform Lens Technology and Everyday DevicesMetalenses — ultrathin planar lenses — represent a revolutionary step in lens design and fabrication, a technology that has remained essentially unchanged for centuries. Metalenses have...Photonics.com 5/9/2018Photonics for OphthalmologyPhotonics Media invites you to join us for our upcoming FREE digital conference, "Photonics for Ophthalmology." The event will feature several 15-minute online presentations on the use of light-based...Photonics.com 6/9/2016PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSmetamaterialA material engineered from artificial matter not found in nature. The artificial makeup and design of metamaterials give them intrinsic properties not common to conventional materials that are...EDU.photonics.com 2/15/2013micro-opticsTiny (less than 2 mm in diameter) lenses, beamsplitters and other optical components used, for example, in endoscopes or microscopes or to focus light from semiconductor lasers and optical fibers.EDU.photonics.com 3/24/2016dioptricsThe branch of optics that deals with the study of the refraction of light, particularly by the transmitting medium of the eye, and by lenses.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009integrated opticsA thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric substrate, whose lenses, detectors, filters, couplers and so forth perform...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIAPenn's Agarwal Group Focuses on Light-Matter Interactions for Optoelectronic DevicesThe Agarwal Group at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Materials Science and Engineering focuses on understanding how light interacts with small scale nanostructures. They also work to...Photonics.com 10/1/2018Laser Munich & Portable Quantum Tech - LIGHT MATTERS 05.15.2013-Laser Munich -Portable Quantum Tech -Metamaterial bandwidth This week on Light Matters: a moon-shaped metamaterial broadens bandwidths, Laura Marshall reports from Laser World of Photonics in...Photonics.com 5/15/2013Capasso Group Embeds, Projects Independent Images on MetasurfaceMembers of the Capasso Group at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have successfully encoded multiple holographic images in a metasurface. The separate...Photonics.com 8/9/2018Photonics on the Showroom Floor and in the Lab - LIGHT MATTERS 02.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you on a brief tour of the Higgins Laboratories at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Quinsigamond Community College and WPI received a $4M grant...Photonics.com 2/21/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESLaser OpticsLaser Scanning LensesLaser Diode Collimating LensesLarge LensesCOMPANIESA.R.W. Optical CorporationARW Optical is your reliable manufacturer of quality optics and coatings. Beamsplitters • Prototyping through volume-production quantities • High-performance and durable optical...Photonics Buyers' GuideLaCroix Precision OpticsOptics that Defend, Build, Cure and Discover The LaCroix name is synonymous with quality precision optics. Since 1947, three generations of family leadership have placed LaCroix Precision Optics...Photonics Buyers' GuideMeller Optics Inc.Meller Optics has been providing high quality optics to defense, medical, laser and industrial markets for over 50 years. Specializing in grinding and polishing of hard, durable materials such as...Photonics Buyers' GuideFOCtek Photonics Inc.FOCtek provides customers with all types of custom manufactured lenses, Precision Optical Components, Polarizing Optics, Prisms, Filters, Coatings, Optical Systems, Laser Crystals, Nonlinear...Photonics Buyers' Guide