Weekly highlights on optics and photonics - Jan 7th
The very last news on the photonics field
2022 starts with great news related to medical innovation, telecommunications and scientific research. From MEETOPTICS, we hope this is a token that leads the rest of the year. Without further ado, here we go!!
An international scientific team from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Max-Planck Insitute for Quantum Optics has extended a measurement method for the observation o light-induced processes in solids.
The research published in OPTICA states that “transient field-resolved spectroscopy enables studies of ultrafast dynamics in molecules, nanostructures, or solids with sub-cycle resolution, but previous work has so far concentrated on extracting the dielectric response at frequencies below 50 THz”. In this new study, the transient field-resolved reflectometry is extended to 50–100 THz (3–6 µm) with MHz repetition rate employing 800 nm few-cycle excitation pulses, and that provides sub-10 fs temporal resolution.
According to the project’s leader, Matthias Kling, “the development of new technical capabilities enabling pioneering experiments provides a really stimulating scenario”. Read more, here 👇
2. Development: fiber optics contribute to orthopedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery is among the most common types of surgery in developed countries. A study published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO) describes how optical sensing, via spectroscopy or imaging, might address unmet clinical needs in orthopedic surgery. The results show that “research efforts involving sensor miniaturization and integration of optics into existing surgical devices” (such as K-wires and cranial perforators) may improve patient outcomes following orthopedic surgery. These advances have made it possible to envision a next-generation set of devices that can be rigorously evaluated in controlled clinical trials to become routine tools for orthopedic surgery.
3. DTU Fotonik researchers being closer to “the perfect laser”
Perfection does not exist, and this premise can be applied to anything you can think about, to lasers too. All lasers make a bit of phase noise because the laser light frequency moves back and forth a little.
However, researchers from the Technical University of Denmark want to get a more accurate laser beam minimizing noise through machinne learning. The purpose of the study is to get closer to an ultra-precise laser determining the phase noise. This technique may help researchers to find a way of compensating for it, so that the result becomes a purer laser beam.
4. Combining imaging modalities is helping neuroscientists find new ways to see the brain
Light-sheet microscopy (LSM) is already widely used in many fields. Now, a novel, mammoth objective called Mesolens is about to up the game for LSM, say SPIE News. The Mesolens has a massive 6 mm × 6 mm field of view yet offers the fine resolution of a microscope objective with a lateral resolution of some 600 nm. When fitted onto a confocal microscope, the lens can image specimens up to 3 mm thick and has already delivered stunning images of zebrafish larvae hatching, as well as nearly half of a mouse brain.
The device is pioneered by Scotland-based University of Strathclyde optical physicist, Gail McConnell, and optical instrument designer, Brad Amos, from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK.
5. Northvolt assembles first lithium-ion battery cell
Marking a new chapter in European industrial history, the cell is the first to have been fully designed, developed and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company.
This year the first commercial customer deliveries will be made. According to Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, “this is only the beginning”. He hopes the company expands its production capacity “to enable the European transition to clean energy”.
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