March 2026 Issue
Feature Articles
Beyond Silica: Novel Uses for Hollow-Core Fibers
In addition to beating conventional telecom fiber on loss and latency, hollow-core fibers are enabling new approaches to applications like sensing, fiber lasers and optical tweezers.
by Jeff Hecht
Renewed Momentum for Photodynamic Therapy
New approaches are revitalizing photodynamic therapy, a light-driven therapy with more than a century of scientific history.
by Meeri Kim
Eye Health in the Age of Screens
As screen use rises, researchers are uncovering how near work and display optics affect eye health—and how smarter design could reduce strain.
by Omid Hemmatyar, Christopher Barsi, JoonKi Park, Michael Tolkin and Barmak HeshmatDepartments and Columns
Conducting polymers made with light / Measuring blood glucose / Attosecond X-ray / Photonic skin / Capturing ultrashort pulses / 60 years of fiber transmission / Fast single-atom imaging / Industry news
Optical Networks Head to Space
OFC plenary speaker Siegbert Martin spoke with OPN about how space-based optical networks are transforming worldwide communications.
Ultraintense Lasers: Reaching for the Brightest Light
NSF OPAL is a next-generation NSF research infrastructure for studying ultrahigh-intensity laser–matter interactions.
60 Years of Fiber Transmission
A look at fiber optic transmission milestones over the past 60 years.
As low-loss optical fiber was developed for communications, researchers discovered that it could be leveraged for sensing.
Also in this Issue
OFC’s energy stems from its unique position at the nexus of cutting-edge innovation, market impact and real-world deployment.
30, 20, and 10 Years Ago in OPN
Measuring fast pulses with slow detectors; the optical network of the future; fiber to the home
Winter School & Workshop / Optica Ambassadors / New dean of Wyant College / Bayvel appointed Dame / ANZCOP 2026 / New OPG editors-inchief / Fantone wins Photonics Promoter / In memoriam: Kostadinka Bizheva, Orazio Svelto, Wesley McCain / Thank you, editors and reps to OFC steering
Naturally focused undulations on the back of a glass disk are illuminated by an LED and focused onto the translucent front as a network of caustics.
![Conceptual representation of entanglement. [Getty Images]](https://opnmedia.blob.core.windows.net/$web/opn/media/images/articles/2026/0226/departments/202602-cover-web.jpg?ext=.jpg)
