Applications for optical fibre sensors have evolved beyond physical measurements in the defence, oil, gas and civil engineering sectors to tackle new opportunities in chemical detection.

Optical fibre technology transformed telecommunications, leading to the global broadband Internet, and beyond. Charles Kuen Kao is the father of optical fibre communications whose vision changed the world.

A nanofabricated twisted topological waveguide on silicon platform enables robust guiding of light at telecommunication wavelength.

A boom of activity in the deployment of photonics in space is underway. That was the clear message from this year’s European Conference on Optical Communication in Italy.

Artificial intelligence looks poised to drive the development of software and hardware platforms in the coming decades. In photonics, it is already proving invaluable and is having an impact in the areas of imaging, sensing and communications.