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Nichia of Japan pioneered the development of gallium nitride blue LEDs and lasers and is now turning its attention to UV devices. Adarsh Sandhu reports from Tokushima, where he interviewed senior executives from the firm.
As everything else seems to get faster, why are scientists trying to slow light down? David Gevaux spoke to Fengnian Xia and Yurii Vlasov at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center to find out.
Electronics firms, fashion houses and medical-equipment suppliers are all busy developing textiles that blend photonics technology with materials science. Duncan Graham-Rowe reports on the striking results of their endeavours.
The ability to rapidly tune the properties of a photonic crystal nanocavity and 'program' it to store light for more than a nanosecond brings optical memory a step closer.
Most optical probes measure the size of the electromagnetic field, but not its direction. A new development in near-field imaging now makes it possible to map vector fields on the nanoscale as never before.
The promising field of terahertz imaging has long been limited by poor resolution. Researchers now believe that the intriguing properties of surface-plasmon polaritons on corrugated wires could help beat the diffraction limit and inspire a new generation of terahertz photonic devices.
For optical devices to be truly useful, they must be able to control light of any polarization. A group at MIT has now made this possible, bringing us a step closer to unlocking the potential of on-chip optics.
Controlling light with light using devices small enough to fit on a chip is tricky, but it is crucial for any integrated all-optical logic scheme. Scientists have now produced modulators that control light at breakneck speeds, bringing the vision of all-optical chips closer to reality.
