Optics and Photonics News

Generative AI Meets Scientific Publishing

Will tools like ChatGPT help or impede the process of disseminating reliable, peer-reviewed scientific information? It’s complicated …

by Melanie Padgett Powers 

Lasers and Optics in Archaeology 

Optical technologies, from airborne lidar to handheld chemical analyzers, give researchers broad views of ancient civilizations, yet focus down to the smallest shards of glass.

by Patricia Daukantas 

 The Double-Clad Fiber Laser 

The author offers a personal view of the early development of a device that wrought a “silent revolution” in lasers and communications.

by Farhad Hakimi 

Newsroom

Research and Industry News

Colorful radiative cooling / AI improves night vision / Imaging turbulent flames / Tracing trade routes / Combating superbugs / The road to GPT / Cornea repair / Industry news

Market Report

The Multifaceted Laser Market

The laser industry’s variety of sectors makes prediction difficult—but also provides opportunities for growth.

Conversations

Fifty Years of Progress at NIF

Optica Laser Congress plenary speakers Mary Spaeth and Ken Manes will talk about advances at the US National Ignition Facility.

Tutorial

A Visible-Light Femtosecond Fiber Laser

Advances in ZBLAN fiber and diode pump lasers enable a milestone.

Infographic

The Road to GPT

In November 2022, OpenAI debuted ChatGPT, an AI chatbot with an extensive knowledge base and deductive abilities capable of producing natural language responses almost indistinguishable from those written by humans. 

President's Message

Nurturing the Next Generation

The passion and dedication of young scientists are inspirational—and underscore the need to support and invest in their development.

Looking Back

30, 20, and 10 Years Ago in OPN

Photo diffusion; extremely large telescopes; Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.

Optica in Focus

News from the Society

Remembering James A. Piper / Optica Fellow stories / Quantum optics award / Ndukaife wins early-career prize / Imaging and Sensing Congresses / Glasgow air monitoring / University admissions ruling / Trumpf turns 100 / Online industry meeting / Thank you, editors and volunteers

Optica Foundation

Thank You to Our Donors

The Optica Foundation recognizes and fosters excellence in the next generation.

After Image

Laser Scattering

A 1064-nm laser scattering in a research setup photographed with a 4 MP digital CCD camera. The brightest upper spot is the beam blocked by black cardboard, and the lower spots are from optical components.