Tubular laser beams can create what amount to fiber-optic cables made of thin air, researchers report in a study to appear in Physical Review X. Laser-heated air can efficiently transmit light signals ...

Researchers have developed a new way to control and manipulate optical signals by embedding a liquid crystal layer into waveguides created with direct laser writing. The new devices enable ...

Semiconductor lasers are ubiquitous in modern technology, but creating novel device architectures remains a challenge due to competing optimization goals. One of the major hurdles is that increasing ...

A Dutch-German team of scientists has succeeded for the first time in controlling a chemical reaction via steering the motion of electrons with ultrashort laser pulses of a precisely controlled ...

Scientists have developed the first electrically pumped continuous-wave semiconductor laser composed exclusively of elements from the fourth group of the periodic table—the "silicon group." The rapid ...

When two black holes merge or two neutron stars collide, gravitational waves can be generated. They spread at the speed of ...

Apple is continuing its development of optical waveguide technology, likely as a way to make an "Apple Glass" augmented reality headset lighter and more comfortable to wear. Waveguides are structures ...

When two black holes merge or two neutron stars collide, gravitational waves can be generated. They spread at the speed of ...

Circuits that carry signals via visible and infrared light rather than electric currents are desirable for many applications because they transmit data faster and use less energy. The problem is that ...