Blog | Syntec Optics

Silicon Metamaterials Hold Promise for Photonic Circuits, Chips

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 17, 2016 at 4:36 am , by synadmn

Transparent metamaterials under development could enable computer chips and interconnecting circuits that use light instead of electrons to process and transmit data, representing a potential leap in performance. Read more...

Analyzing Energy Conversion in Nanoscale Optoelectronics

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 15, 2016 at 5:39 am , by synadmn

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The 1970s witnessed both the initial miniaturization of devices (i.e., toward the nanoscale) and the simultaneous birth of heterostructures. In nanoscale materials, radical changes in the characteristics of particles are observed as they move from classical to quantum behavior. Read...

Far-Infrared Technique Non-invasively Measures Blood Glucose

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 12, 2016 at 8:04 am , by synadmn

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A light-based method for measuring blood glucose may give diabetes patients the daily monitoring they need without the pain and infection risk of conventional metering. Researchers from Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, led by professor Yuji Matsuura, have...

Brain Imaging Technology for studying Parkinsonian Syndromes

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 10, 2016 at 1:48 am , by synadmn

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Using a portable device developed at Drexel University, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have identified differences in brain activation patterns associated with postural stability in people with Parkinsonian syndromes and healthy adults. Read more...

NASA Exploring Freeform Optics for Compact Space Telescopes

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 8, 2016 at 3:45 am , by synadmn

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Freeform optics technology allows telescope mirrors to take almost any shape, potentially improving image quality over a larger field of view. Prompted by advances in computer-controlled fabrication and testing, NASA engineers are now using freeform optics to explore cost-effective alternatives...

Super-resolution Microscopy: Approach boosts accuracy of single-molecule tracking

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 5, 2016 at 12:40 am , by synadmn

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Tracking how molecules move, form shapes, and interact within neurons and other cells offers a powerful view of biological processes that impact health. Now, work at Stanford University (CA), led by Nobel Laureate W. E. Moerner, demonstrates a marked improvement...

Controlling Light with Geometric-Phase Holograms

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 3, 2016 at 1:38 am , by synadmn

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Improved fabrication techniques are creating a new generation of gratings, lenses, and other elements that are physically thin and optically thick. Read more...

Additive Manufacturing of Optical Components

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | February 1, 2016 at 12:57 am , by synadmn

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Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing technique that potentially enables new, complex-shaped geometries. It allows us to build prototypes of freeform reflectors from polymer-based materials with functional surfaces to which we can then apply a coating. Read more...

Stretchable Thin Film Produces Circularly Polarized Light

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | January 29, 2016 at 3:18 am , by synadmn

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A novel fabrication method has achieved a device-friendly nanocomposite thin film that produces circularly polarized light. The simple and cost-effective technology could aid disease monitoring and diminish the disruption caused by follow-up medical treatment for cancer survivors and other patients....

Optical Plasmonic Biosensor for Leukemia Detection

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | January 27, 2016 at 2:39 am , by synadmn

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Biosensors are devices that can be used to specifically detect biomolecules of interest in applications such as clinical analysis, drug discovery, and food safety. In general, biosensors have several advantages over conventional diagnostic techniques. For instance, they are label-free and...