Scientists at Heriot‑Watt University have demonstrated in a world-first, that light can be used to control every aspect of how electromagnetic waves oscillate, opening new technological frontiers. Researchers working in photonics, the science of light, have discovered a new way to control “polarization,” a key property of light that plays a crucial role in the performance of technologies such as drug development and quantum computers.

The breakthrough resolves a long-standing challenge in photonics: achieving control of light that is both fast and strong enough to be useful in real systems. The research, titled All-optical polarization control in time-varying low index films via plasma symmetry breaking, has been published in the journal Nature Photonics.

Dr. Marcello Ferrera, Professor at Heriot-Watt University’s School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, said, How light oscillates has a huge impact on how it interacts with the physical world around us. For the first time, we now have full control over this property of light, for any polarization state, and at ultra‑fast speeds.