Toggle light / dark theme

Cascaded-mode interferometer could replace beam-splitting waveguides for fiber optics

Interferometers, devices that can modulate aspects of light, play the important role of modulating and switching light signals in fiber-optic communications networks and are frequently used for gas sensing and optical computing.

Now, applied physicists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have invented a new type of interferometer that allows precise control of light’s frequency, intensity and mode in one compact package.

Called a cascaded-mode interferometer, it is a single waveguide on a silicon-on-insulator platform that can create multiple signal paths to control the amplitude and phase of light simultaneously, a process known as optical spectral shaping. By combining mechanisms to manipulate different aspects of light into a single waveguide, the could be used in advanced nanophotonic sensors or on-chip quantum computing.

Simulations show six valves provide ideal setup for rapidly dispersing cooling gas

When the plasma inside a fusion system starts to misbehave, it needs to be quickly cooled to prevent damage to the device. Researchers at Commonwealth Fusion Systems believe the best bet is a massive gas injection: essentially, a well-timed, rapid blast of cooling gas inside their fusion system, which is known as SPARC.

But how many gas valves does it take to quickly tame a plasma that is hotter than the sun? The team has to strike the perfect balance: with too few valves, some parts of SPARC might overheat. With too many, valuable space inside the vessel would be wasted.

To answer this question, researchers turned to a known as M3D-C1, which is developed and maintained by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The code was used to model different valve configurations, and the results show that spacing six gas valves around the fusion vessel, with three on the top and three on the bottom, provides optimal protection.

Korean researchers develop a processor for real-time hologram generation

Korean researchers have developed a digital holography processor that converts two-dimensional (2D) videos into real-time three-dimensional (3D) holograms. This technology is expected to play a key role in the future of holography, as it enables the instantaneous transformation of ordinary 2D videos into 3D holograms.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has announced the development of a programmable semiconductor-based digital holographic media processor (RHP) using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. This processor can convert 2D into 3D holograms in .

The real-time processor is the world’s first to utilize high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to generate real-time, full-color 3D holograms from 2D video. Notably, all the hardware required for hologram generation is integrated into a single system-on-chip (SoC).

Maxar launches GPS-alternative navigation system for drones

WASHINGTON — Maxar Intelligence developed a visual-based navigation technology that enables aerial drones to operate without relying on GPS, the company announced March 25.

The software, called Raptor, provides a terrain-based positioning system for drones in GPS-denied environments by leveraging detailed 3D models created from Maxar’s satellite imagery. Instead of using satellite signals, a drone equipped with Raptor compares its real-time camera feed with a pre-existing 3D terrain model to determine its position and orientation.

Peter Wilczynski, chief product officer at Maxar Intelligence, explained that the Raptor software has three main components. One is installed directly on the drone, enabling real-time position determination. Another application georegisters the drone’s video feed with Maxar’s 3D terrain data. A separate laptop-based application works alongside drone controllers, allowing operators to extract precise ground coordinates from aerial video feeds.

Cyborg Brain Implants: The Organoid Brain-Computer Interface (Human + Mouse + Computer)

Try brilliant FREE for 30 days: https://brilliant.org/ihm/
And get 20% off an annual membership!

Can you implant lab-grown brain tissue to heal brain damage? Kind of. What if you also implant an electrical stimulation device? The next generation of brain implants may be the Organoid Brain-Computer Interface (OBCI).

Learn about: brain organoids, dendritic spines, synapses, presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, neurotransmitters.

Story of Einstein’s Brain: https://www.npr.org/2005/04/18/4602913/the-long-strange-jour…eins-brain

Perseus: A tool for tracking the coordination of pump-and-dump crypto coin schemes

A team of computer scientists and financial specialists at University College London has developed a tool to track the coordination efforts of pump-and-dump crypto coin scheme manipulators. They have published a paper on the arXiv preprint server describing their tool called Perseus, its purpose and how it works.

High-precision quantum gates with diamond spin qubits achieve error rate below 0.1%

Researchers at QuTech, in collaboration with Fujitsu and Element Six, have demonstrated a complete set of quantum gates with error probabilities below 0.1%. While many challenges remain, being able to perform basic gate operations with errors occurring below this threshold, satisfies an important condition for future large-scale quantum computation. The research was published in Physical Review Applied on 21 March 2025.

Quantum computers are anticipated to be able to solve important problems that are beyond the capabilities of classical computers. Quantum computations are performed through a large sequence of basic operations, called .

For a quantum computer to function, it is essential that all quantum gates are highly precise. The probability of an error during the gates must be below a threshold, typically of the order 0.1 to 1%. Only then, errors are rare enough for error correction methods to work successfully and ensure reliable with noisy components.

OQTOPUS: Researchers launch open-source quantum computer operating system

The University of Osaka, Fujitsu Limited, Systems Engineering Consultants Co., LTD. (SEC), and TIS Inc. (TIS) today announced the launch of an open-source operating system (OS) for quantum computers on GitHub, in what is one of the largest open-source initiatives of its kind globally. The Open Quantum Toolchain for Operators and Users (OQTOPUS) OS can be customized to meet individual user needs and is expected to help make practical quantum computing a reality.

Until now, universities and companies seeking to make their quantum computers accessible via the cloud have had to independently develop extensive software to enable cloud-based operation. By offering this OS—covering everything from setup to operation—the research partners have lowered the barrier to deploying quantum computers in the cloud.

Additionally, quantum computing offered by the University of Osaka has begun integrating OQTOPUS into its operations and Fujitsu Limited will make it available for research partners using its quantum computers in the second half of 2025.