Physicists have devised an ultra-thin dynamic amplifier for electromagnetic radiation using a parametric metasurface. A parametric metasurface is a thin composite material with small-scale surface structure, whose properties vary periodically over time,...

Physicists have created a laser that generates spiralling light, emitted by a surface with thickness a mere fraction of a human hair. Light with a spiral – i.e. rotating polarisation – has been created before, but only in large bulky apparatuses....

Physicists have used a single extremely small component on a quest to make extremely short, extremely bright pulses of extremely short-wavelength laser light. Anastasiia Zalogina from the Nonlinear Physics Centre led a project to convert infrared laser...

Physicists at the Research School of Physics have developed tiny translucent slides capable of producing two very different images depending on the direction in which light travels through them.   As light passes through the slide, an image of Australia...

Professor Yuri Kivshar has been awarded a prestigious medal by Optica (formerly OSA), one of the top international optics and photonics bodies. The honour, the Max Born Award, recognizes outstanding contributions to physical optics, theoretical or experimental....

Physicists at the ANU Research School of Physics have made extremely efficient microscopic lasers, smaller than the width of a hair - smaller, even, than the wavelength of the light they produce. These nanolasers will power photonics - smaller, faster...

Scientists have devised a way to reveal the superpowers of a crystal, with a mere flash of laser light. The superpowers in question, known as topological phases of light, include the ability to guide light along winding paths perfectly with no loss,...

Lightning never strikes twice, so the saying goes, but new technology may allow us to control where it hits the ground, reducing the risk of catastrophic bushfires.  Many of Australia's devastating 2019-20 bushfires were caused by dry lightning...

Physicists have manufactured a small can of light and shown it could be used to make optical devices such as tiny sensors and light-based computer chips. The team from ANU, ITMO University and Korea University, trapped light waves for a record length...

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new robust type of light technology that could lead to cheaper and faster devices. The team report in Light: Science & Applications the creation of a laser that is immune...

A photon can trap another photon within a material, researchers have discovered. ANU honours student Janet Zhong made the surprise discovery that a photon can be localised within a second photon while she was modelling a very simple collection of atoms. The...

ANU physicists are set to play a prominent role in a revolution in medical scanning. A team from the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering has been invited to join a major European consortium that is aiming to improve magnetic resonance imaging...

ANU physicists have invented a tiny device that creates the highest quality holographic images ever achieved, opening the door to imaging technologies seen in science fiction movies such as Star Wars. Lead researcher Lei Wang said the team created...

Physicists have discovered radical new properties in a nanomaterial, opening new possibilities for highly efficient thermophotovoltaic cells that could one day harvest heat in the dark and turn it into electricity. The research team from ANU/ARC Centre...

Laser physicists have built a tractor beam that can repel and attract objects, using a hollow laser beam that is bright around the edges and dark in its centre. It is the first long-distance optical tractor beam and moved particles one fifth of a millimetre...