This is the syndication feed for Photonics Spectra: Communications. https://www.photonics.com/Splash.aspx?Tag=Communications Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:10:24 GMT Thu, 23 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT 1800
Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) can travel more deeply through tissue than purely optical imaging techniques. This makes PAT useful for detecting changes in blood vessel growth, oxygen levels, and tissue structure, which can be early indicators of disease.

To enable PAT applications to detect ultrasound signals with greater sensitivity, speed, and scalability, researchers at the University of Michigan developed a polymer-based microring resonator array containing more than 40 elements. The researchers controlled the size of each microring at the nm scale to allow the sensors to have distinct optical resonances within a narrow spectral range.

By precisely tuning the radius of each microring and maintaining its high-quality...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Microring-Sensors-Enable-Fast-Scalable-High-Res/p5/a72430 A72430 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
In the future, data could be written directly using light and stored in magnetic materials without the need for electrical signals. This would greatly speed data transfer, while lowering energy consumption in, for example, data centers and communication networks.

To develop a new generation of energy-efficient, high-speed memory applications, it will first be necessary to gain all-optical control of antiferromagnetic materials. Conventional optomagnetic recording techniques rely on net magnetization, a characteristic that does not exist in antiferromagnets. For this reason, optical writing of antiferromagnetic materials is, so far, quite difficult.

Researchers at the University of Augsburg, the RIKEN Center, and the University...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/All-Optical-Writing-Could-Offer-Fast-Efficient/p5/a72406 A72406 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Metasurfaces offer multifunctionality in an extremely compact footprint, making them valuable tools for directing and focusing light in small devices like lenses, mirrors, and filters. But once a physical metasurface is built, its material, shape, and dimensions cannot be reconfigured. Such is not the case with an emerging technology known as virtual metasurfaces.

Virtual metasurfaces can be programmed to perform many different functions within the same device. For example, the same virtual metasurface can be used to mix colors, turn infrared (IR) images into visible images, or adjust the focus of a device. Furthermore, virtual metasurfaces can perform multiple functions simultaneously.
The virtual metasurface acts like a...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Tunable-Virtual-Metasurfaces-Perform-Multiple/p5/a72403 A72403 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Zinc oxide (ZnO), an earth-abundant, nontoxic, sustainable material, can be designed to exhibit strong, highly sensitive mechanoluminescence within the near-infrared (NIR) region.

According to researchers at Tohoku University, who developed the mechanoluminescent ZnO with colleagues at the University of Tsukuba and Saga University, this is the first demonstration of mechanoluminescence in ZnO without the use of any rare-earth elements.

Mechanoluminescent materials convert mechanical energy such as stress, strain, and vibration directly into light, and are used for self-powered sensors that require no batteries or wiring. These materials have a wide range of potential applications, but they are typically made from expensive,...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Mechanoluminescent-Zinc-Oxide-A-Surprising/p5/a72364 A72364 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The Mesh Optical Technology team brings experience from SpaceX, Intel, and other advanced manufacturing environments. Company co-founders Travis Brashears, Cameron Ramos, and Serena Grown-Haeberli helped develop the optical communication links connecting SpaceX’s Starlink satellite mega-constellation, according to reports.

Mesh Optical would provide optical...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Elon-Musk-Secures-FTC-Approval-to-Acquire-Mesh/p5/a72374 A72374 Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:03:28 GMT
Researchers at Emory University demonstrated electrically tunable, nonlinear optics in plasmonic tunnel junctions, and reduced the size of these devices from the conventional scale of hundreds of nm down to only a few nm.

Electrically controlled, nonlinear, microscopic-scale optical devices could enable processes essential for integrated photonics, including signal processing, ultrafast switching, and quantum light manipulation.

To produce a nonlinear optical phenomenon called second harmonic generation (SHG), the researchers developed plasmonic tunnel junctions comprising epitaxial indium tin oxide (ITO) and plasmonic gold electrodes, separated by an epitaxial lutetium oxide (LuO) barrier. SHG is currently used to double laser...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Tunable-Nonlinear-Optics-Could-Advance-Quantum/p5/a72322 A72322 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Observable Space has also closed a $90 million series A funding round. The investment will be used to accelerate laser communication partnerships, scale its in-space systems, and expand its international...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Observable-Space-Raises-90M-Secures-94M/p5/a72286 A72286 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT
High-speed, wireless 6G systems will require carriers that support high-frequency bandwidths. Currently, photonic terahertz (THz) transmitters, which are expected to play a central role in 6G communications, remain below 350 GHz due to phase noise and power limitations.

To achieve broadband transmission above 350 GHz in the THz regime, researchers at Tokushima University developed a system that combines high-order modulation techniques with fiber-coupled microcombs. The core of the system is a compact soliton microcomb device with a fiber-coupled microresonator. Optical frequency combs generated in the microresonator are used to produce low-noise THz signals via photomixing. The system leverages the high frequency stability...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Soliton-Microcombs-Enable-Ultrahigh-Speed-Data/p5/a72287 A72287 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT
A chip-scale photonic approach from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) uses microcombs, to produce stable, ultralow-noise signals in the microwave and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) ranges. The method developed by the team, which was led by researcher Changmin Ahn and professor Jungwon Kim, in collaboration with professor Hansuek Lee, involved a dual...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Dual-Strategy-Generates-High-Performance/p5/a72274 A72274 Tue, 26 May 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Existing electronic and photonic platforms fall short when it comes to meeting today’s burgeoning data processing demands, fueled by technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, edge computing, and AI.

Neuromorphic computing frameworks, which imitate how the brain processes information, are emerging as a potential way to deliver efficient photonic processing for vast amounts of data. Neuromorphic platforms use optical AI to provide an optical platform for brain-inspired processing activities such as parallelism.
Experimental setup. The setup configuration is based on a figure-eight design, encompassing an input (top) and a processing (bottom) loop. The two loops are connected through a 50:50 4-port...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Optical-AI-Improves-Processing-Performance-for/p5/a72253 A72253 Fri, 15 May 2026 07:00:00 GMT
PICs are critical for optical transceivers, on-chip spectrometers, radio frequency (RF) filters, quantum and classical computing, and a host of other advanced applications. In most cases, each application requires a separate PIC design. This lengthens the prototyping cycle and increases costs.

Programmable PICs offer a versatile platform that can be reconfigured into different architectures to implement diverse functionalities. A typical architecture consists of Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) gates arranged in closed meshes. By programming these gates, light can be made to propagate in a forward direction or circulate in a closed loop, creating resonators. This ability to arbitrarily direct light on-chip allows the same gate array...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Powered-Down-Programmable-Gate-Array-Drives-PIC/p5/a72243 A72243 Wed, 13 May 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Controlled chaos, deliberately introduced into the design of an optical metasurface, can increase the power of an optical device without adding complexity, allowing the device to have more functionality within a more compact footprint. The new class of “disordered mosaic metasurfaces” enables multiple optical functions to be performed simultaneously within a single device.

This counter-intuitive discovery, made by an engineering team at Monash University, could change the way that future photonic technologies are developed. Applications where size, weight, and performance are critical, like telecommunications and space-based imaging, could be built to “do more with less” by using a metasurface design based on...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Mosaic-Metasurface-Design-Allows/p5/a72181 A72181 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT
According to Marvell, the acquisition strengthens its portfolio by adding advanced modulation capabilities that enable continued scaling in bandwidth, power efficiency, and integration for next-generation coherent and optical interconnect platforms. Plasmonics offers significant advantages over traditional silicon photonics by enabling higher density, massively parallel optical links with ultra-low energy per bit, the company said in announcing the...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Marvell-Acquires-Polariton-Technologies/p5/a72171 A72171 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:06:00 GMT
Circularly polarized light (CPL) detection is used in quantum applications, bioimaging, secure communications, and multilevel optical data processing. Conventional CPL photodetectors typically operate within a narrow range, from the ultraviolet (UV) to the visible (VIS). But for many applications, CPL detection in the infrared (IR) is necessary.

To support next-generation applications, researchers at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), led by professor Jiwoong Yang, developed an optical sensor that can detect CPL across a spectral range extending from the UV/VIS to the short-wave infrared (SWIR). According to the team, the new, quantum-dot (QD)-based sensor demonstrates photodetection performance...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Polarized-Light-Detector-Measures-up-to/p5/a72133 A72133 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT
At Hiroshima University, a research team showed that a single photon can physically span multiple paths at the same time.

The discovery could improve phase sensitivity, making it sharper than previously thought possible for a single particle. This, in turn, could enhance the accuracy of ultra-precise instruments like GPS systems, atomic clocks, and deep-space communications.

Beyond that, the team’s demonstration of photon delocalization could affect how scientists define physical reality, especially at the microscopic level.

Using a two-path interferometer, the researchers designed a way to quantify the delocalization of individual photons according to the rate of polarization flips induced by small rotations. To...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photon-Delocalization-Could-Change-Classical-View/p5/a72115 A72115 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Unlike encrypted data transmission, which can be detected even if the observer cannot read the transmission, covert communication makes it look like no data is being sent at all.

For this reason, the messages hidden through covert communication are almost impossible to intercept or hack. The invisibility afforded by covert communication could provide defense, finance, and other industries with next-level security for sensitive data.

One way to make optical communication covert is to reduce the emission signature so that it blends seamlessly with the background noise. The data transfer can be hidden in an otherwise lossy, noisy channel, such as in the thermal noise from blackbody radiation.

Researchers at the University of...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Balancing-Positive-and-Negative-IR-Light-Makes/p5/a72065 A72065 Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Tiny flaws that occur during the manufacturing process can make the light-based connections between optical components less reliable. A new, fiber-based photonic topological insulator, with a twisted design, addresses this concern.

The optical fiber platform was developed at the University of Bath, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and international partners. Its twisted design makes it resilient to defects and damage. This could provide a considerable boost to the reliability of data transmission in optoelectronic devices, sensors, and in quantum and high-bandwidth communications.

Using standard telecom-grade materials, the researchers developed an optical fiber with multiple light-guiding cores. The multiple...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Twisted-Fiber-Design-Forms-a-Light-Propagation/p5/a72029 A72029 Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT
Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows encrypted information to be distributed without being intercepted. In free-space QKD, however, fluctuations in atmospheric conditions can cause distortions in the propagating spatial modes, reducing the fidelity of the transmission and impairing the retrieval of the encoded information at the receiver end.

To alleviate the effects of atmospheric turbulence on spatial mode transmission, a team at the University of Ottawa developed an all-optical self-correction scheme for turbulence resilience using stimulated parametric down-conversion (StimPDC)-based optical phase conjugation.

Instead of relying on complex, expensive digital adaptive optics, the researchers used a nonlinear optical process...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/All-Optical-Self-Correction-Technique-Protects/p5/a72017 A72017 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT
The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) kicks off on March 15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with a five-day showcase expected to host more than 16,000 participants and 700 exhibitors from more than 90 countries.

This year’s conference features a dedicated quantum track focusing on advancements in quantum devices, systems, and networking. The track, which aims to highlight comprehensive technology gains across the complete quantum landscape, will explore these advancements in the broader context of quantum communications and photonics-based quantum networking. Featured topics will include quantum key distribution, entanglement routing and quantum networking, and multipartite entangled states for...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Optical-Networking-Innovation-Takes-Center-Stage/p5/a72023 A72023 Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:21:50 GMT
Characterizing the loss mechanisms in a microresonator can help improve the device’s performance, to a point at whcih high-performing microresonators can enhance nonlinear light-matter interactions and improve optical communications, sensing, integrated photonics, and quantum applications. Resonator performance is particularly important for PICs, which can experience losses from multiple loss mechanisms.

A team of researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) has fabricated an ultrahigh-Q microresonator using a racetrack design. The team sought to develop a low-loss resonator that used less optical power to trap and amplify light.

To minimize losses caused by the bending of light, the team designed...]]> https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Racetrack-Microresonators-Distinctive-Shape/p5/a72006 A72006 Mon, 02 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT