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Physics

Optical physics and communications

News and Updates

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Low Error-Rate Detector System for Telecommunications

December 2, 2014

NIST scientists have devised an experimental photon-detection system for communications with error rates far below even the most ideal conventional designs

Thin, Strong Bond for Vacuum Seal

December 2, 2014

An ultra-stable, ultra-thin bonding technology has been adapted by researchers in PML's Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Division for use as a super

Gauging the Hue of the Sea

November 24, 2014

The world's oceans face multiple threats, and fisheries, marine biologists, and environmental scientists need accurate and timely data about changing conditions

Earth Science: Seeing the Surface Clearly

November 24, 2014

Satellite observation has revolutionized our understanding of terrestrial conditions and climate dynamics. But the measurement science is extremely demanding

World's First Photonic Pressure Sensor Outshines Traditional Mercury Standard

October 29, 2014

For almost 400 years, mercury gauges have prevailed as the most accurate way to measure pressure. Now, within weeks of seeing "first light," a novel pressure

Paul Williams and Joshua Hadler operating the NIST calibration service for high-power lasers.

NIST Launches New Calibration Service for High-Power Lasers

October 29, 2014

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new calibration service for high-power lasers of the sort used by manufacturers for

New High-Resolution X-ray Spectrometer for Beam Lines

October 24, 2014

NIST scientists have pioneered a technology that may speed the arrival of long-awaited materials and devices including advanced high-temperature superconductors

Photons by the Numbers

September 25, 2014

A NIST team is at work on what promises to be one of the world's most accurate methods for generating a specified number of photons, and has devised a method to

Calibrating Cancer Radiotherapy Beams Using Light and Sound

September 17, 2014

Doctors shrink tumors with radiation therapy, but a badly calibrated beam can cause serious complications. Scientists in NIST's Radiation Physics Division in

Scientists Shed Light on Organic Photovoltaic Characteristics

September 2, 2014

Photovoltaic devices, also known as solar cells, produce electrical power when exposed to light, and that technology has enabled a fast-growing industry. The

NIST Therapy for Ultraviolet Laser Beams: Hydrogen-treated Fibers

August 11, 2014

To make a better optical fiber for transmitting laser beams, the first idea that comes to mind is probably not a nice long hydrogen bath. And yet, scientists

New NIST Metamaterial Gives Light a One-Way Ticket

July 1, 2014

The light-warping structures known as metamaterials have a new trick in their ever-expanding repertoire. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

NIST researchers are gathering skin reflectance data to establish the variation found in human tissue in order to develop reference standards for hyperspectral imaging applications.

Seeing Your True Colors: Standards for Hyperspectral Imaging

July 1, 2014

Today, doctors who really want to see if a wound is healing have to do a biopsy or some other invasive technique that, besides injuring an already injured

NIST engineer Tasshi Dennis with NIST's solar simulator based on a white light laser.

Novel NIST Laser System Mimics Sunlight to Test Solar Cell Efficiency

May 28, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a laser-based instrument that generates artificial sunlight to help test

PML's Ohno receives first "SSL Visionary Award"

April 29, 2014

Yoshi Ohno, a group leader in PML's Sensor Science Division, was recently honored by the Department of Energy as the first recipient of the SSL Visionary Award

Now You See It: Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in a Silicon Nitride Optomechanical Crystal

April 9, 2014

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have observed electromagnetically induced transparency at room temperature and

simulation of laser flashes on windshield

Helping the Judicial System Understand Laser Strikes on Aircraft

January 14, 2014

Joshua Hadler and colleagues in PML's Quantum Electronics and Photonics Division have devised a simple, accurate measurement system that can help law

Controllable Mode Competition in a Phonon Laser

November 19, 2013

Using a novel realization of a "phonon laser," scientists at PML and the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) have observed and learned to control a process called

NIST Shows How to Make a Compact Frequency Comb in Minutes

July 11, 2013

Laser frequency combs—high-precision tools for measuring different colors of light in an ever-growing range of applications such as advanced atomic clocks

Microscopy Technique Could Help Computer Industry Develop 3-D Components

June 25, 2013

A technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for improving optical microscopes now has been applied to

High-Efficiency Photon Source Brings Day of Reckoning Closer for a Famous Quantum Test

June 25, 2013

Physicists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) are edging ever closer to getting really

Closing the Last Bell-test Loophole for Photons

June 3, 2013

An international team of researchers has reached a milestone in experimental confirmation of a key tenet of quantum mechanics, using ultra-sensitive photon

A NIST team has created an ultraviolet (UV) metamaterial formed of alternating nanolayers of silver (green) and titanium dioxide (blue)

The Better to See You With: Scientists Build Record-Setting Metamaterial Flat Lens

May 23, 2013

For the first time, scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses

New 3D Defect Detection Fills Important Industry Gap

May 13, 2013

As device manufacturing technologies sizes shrink beyond 22 nm and increase in complexity, defects become more detrimental to device performance and harder to

An Unprecedented View of Spintronic Switching

April 26, 2013

If spintronics is to become the Next Big Thing, it will be because researchers have learned how to control many extremely small, but hugely significant, things

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