Favoriting. Review of the development history of photonics!

Photonics is the study of light and other types of radiant energy, whose quantum unit is the photon. Photonics' impact on research, technology, navigation, culture, astronomy, forensics, and healthcare helped shape the 20th century, and now, in the 21st century, photonics continues to play a vital role in the scientific community's understanding of the world at large.

Light has both wave and particle properties, with its intensity varying depending on the number of particles or photons. Light behaves in a variety of ways when it comes into contact with water, air, or other substances, where it is absorbed, reflected, or scattered.

French physicist Pierre Aigrain, a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences, said in an article that the term "photonics" appears to have first appeared in 1967 or 1973, depending on the source. By the 1980s, the term began to appear in press releases, reports, and internal publications from Bell Labs and Hughes Aircraft Company, as well as in the general media.

In 1982, the industry magazine "Optical Spectroscopy" was renamed "Photon Spectroscopy". In the late 1980s, the IEEE Laser and Electro-Optics Society published a journal called Photonics Technology Letters. In 1995, SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, held the first Western photonics industry conference. Before the term "photonics" was adopted, the field was often called "optics." Technologies that blur the line between optics and electronics are called "optoelectronics" and are still used in some cases today.

Devices that run on light rather than electricity have many advantages, the first of which is speed. Light travels about 10 times faster than electricity, which means data transmitted through photonic media such as fiber optic cables can travel longer distances in a fraction of the time. Unlike electrical current, visible and infrared beams can pass through each other without interacting. Therefore, a single optical fiber can carry 3 million phone calls simultaneously. Among other things, these advantages continue to redefine the possibilities of modern life.

I: History

ancient history

The ancient Egyptians, Hindus, Romans, Greeks, Mayans, and Aztecs built monuments and created art that paid homage to light, sometimes using unique architecture to introduce and showcase natural forms of light. Many ancient cultures worshiped gods associated with the sun, such as Ra and Apollo. Light is associated with power, life and healing.

750 BC

The first lenses date back to around 750 BC. The earliest lenses were made from polished crystal, usually quartz. Ancient lenses have been found in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Babylonia, the Nordic countries, and elsewhere. Lens-like glass objects have been discovered earlier, but their purpose has been debated as the objects may have been decorative.

300 BC

Around 300 BC, the Greek mathematician Euclid published Optica, a manuscript on the geometry of vision and the first known written work to study vision from a mathematical perspective. The work influenced the later work of Greek, Islamic, and Western European Renaissance scientists and artists.

second century

Ptolemy's (partly lost) work Optics was written in this way. It covers geometric optics, dealing with reflection, refraction and color.

tenth century

Persian mathematician Ibn Sa'ar's paper "The Burning Instrument" revealed the shape of lenses capable of focusing light without geometric aberrations. Saar is described as the first to discover the law of refraction, now known as Snell's law and named after Willibrod Snellius who derived the equivalent law 600 years later.

11th century

The Arab mathematician and physicist Ibn Haitham, known as the "Father of Modern Optics", conducted a comprehensive and systematic analysis of Greek optical theory. Al Haytham wrote many books on optics, the most important and influential of which was The Book of Optics. This book was translated into Latin at the end of the 12th century and laid the foundation for the subsequent development of optics.

11th-13th century

Many Western scientists compiled, organized, and further developed the theories and formulas of previous generations of scientists by writing textbooks based on Greek and Arabic optical works.

sixteenth century

Willebrod Snellius and René Descartes rediscovered the law of refraction (named Snell's law after Snellius), which was first discovered by Ibn Sal around 980.

seventeenth century

The first known microscopes and telescopes were created, reshaping the scientific world's understanding of biology, astronomy, and navigation.

1905

Albert Einstein published "Heuristic Views Concerning the Generation and Transformation of Light," a theory that developed the hypothesis that light energy is carried in discrete quantized packets.

1916

The Optical Society of America (OSA) is established, known today as the Optical Society.

1927

Oleg Losev invented the first light-emitting diode.

1930

Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in the field of light scattering and his discovery of the phenomenon named after him - Raman scattering, which led to the subsequent fields of Raman spectroscopy.

1954

Charles Townes, working with Herbert J. Zeiger and graduate student James P. Gordon, demonstrated the first maser at Columbia University. The microwave transmitter was the first device based on Einstein's predictions, which achieved the first amplification and generation of electromagnetic waves through stimulated emission. Masers radiate at wavelengths slightly larger than 1cm and produce approximately 10nW of power.

The first microwave emitter, a precursor to the laser, was demonstrated at Columbia University by Charles Hud Townsend, Herbert Zeiger, and James Gordon.

1955

The Society of Photographic Instrument Engineers (SPIE) is established.

1960

Theodore Maiman built the first ruby laser.

1962

Nick Holonyak Jr. invented the first visible spectrum LED.

1967

Carl Kocher and scientists at the University of California's Ernest O. Lawrence Radiation Laboratory demonstrate quantum entanglement of photons emitted by calcium atoms.

1970

Corning Glass researchers Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultz invented fused silicon optical fiber, which can transmit information 65,000 times better than copper wire.

1971

Dennis Gabor was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention and development of the holographic method.

1975

The first digital camera was developed by Steven Sasson of Eastman Kodak using a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor.

1981

Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Nicolaas Bloembergen received half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for their contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy. Kai M. Siegbahn received the other half of the prize for his contributions to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy.

1982

Peter Moulton of MIT invented the Ti:sapphire tunable solid-state laser.

1983

U.S. President Ronald Reagan launched the Strategic Defense Initiative, known as "Star Wars," which resulted in a dramatic shift in funding toward military and defense projects.

1987

Eastman Kodak chemists Ching Wan Tang and Steven Van Slyke created the first practical OLED.

1988

The first transatlantic fiber optic cable, TAT-8, is laid between the United States and Europe.

1994

Harvard University physicist Federico Capasso and his team developed the quantum cascade laser.

1997

Shuji Nakamura, Steven DenBaars, and James Speck of the University of California, Santa Barbara, announced the development of a gallium nitride (GaN) laser that emits bright blue-violet light in pulsed operation.

2005

John Hall and Theodor H?nsch were awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for their contributions to the development of laser precision spectroscopy, including optical frequency comb technology .

2014

Stefan Hell, William Moerner and Eric Betzig won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, a technique that exceeds the Abbe limit.

2018

Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou received half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on chirped pulse lasers.

Arthur Ashkin won the other half of the prize for his invention of optical tweezers.

2019

Google claims its Sycamore processor has achieved quantum supremacy.

2020

The scientific community commemorates the 60th anniversary of the laser with continued innovation. Laser technology advances in 2020 include demonstrations of laser cooling of polyatomic YbOH molecules; thallium laser welding; and the development of all-planar solar-pumped lasers and ultrafast high-power yellow lasers.

Winners Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Gates won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. Genzel and Ghaz used adaptive optics and infrared speckle imaging techniques in the work that ultimately led to the award.

II: Basic Technology

Imaging: Imaging is used to gather physical information about the world, whether capturing a moment with a smartphone camera or performing microsurgical imaging with optical coherence tomography. Examples of imaging technologies and fields include photography; thermal imaging, multispectral imaging, hyperspectral imaging, gravity imaging, photoacoustic imaging, thermomagnetic imaging, and speckle imaging; and optical coherence tomography.

Laser: Laser produces a highly focused and concentrated linear beam and is the enabling technology for lidar, digital projection, imaging technology, barcode scanners, data storage, and more. Lasers range in size from huge synchrotrons that can span several miles to tiny VCSELs that are a few nanometers long. Various types of lasers are suitable for different tasks, from cutting and welding, to surgical and medical applications, to lidar systems in self-driving cars.

Lens: A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses light through refraction. Depending on their shape, these devices are capable of performing a variety of tasks, including applications such as magnification, aberration correction, and focusing. Various materials, such as quartz glass, plastic, borosilicate glass or chalcogenides, each have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of their useful wavelengths, how they handle heat, their durability, etc.

Machine Vision: This technology is used to interpret information about an object or scene through non-contact optical sensing. Machine vision has evolved greatly, from cameras that perform simple tasks, to complex multispectral devices that use deep learning to make informed decisions on complex data. As a new chapter in the automation era begins, machine vision is enabling robots to perform increasingly complex tasks, such as bin sorting. The technology is improving manufacturing processes, self-driving vehicle safety and medical imaging.

Metrology: Photonics technology makes measurements more precise than ever before. Angle, size, topography, light intensity and wavelength can be measured with extreme accuracy. Examples of optical metrology include optical distance measurement, lidar, time-of-flight, optical temperature sensors, and spectroscopy.

Microscope: Microscope is an application of optics used to observe tiny objects and phenomena. Fluorescence techniques expand the amount of information that can be gathered by isolating specific proteins or cells. Super-resolution microscopy takes this technology even further by exceeding the Abbe limit, the theoretical limit of diffraction.

Optical fiber: Optical fiber can be made by stretching glass or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than a human hair. Fiber optics are used in many applications, but the most common is fiber optic communications. Fiber optic communications provide transmission over longer distances and higher bandwidth (data rates) than cables. Fiber optics are also used in lighting and imaging, as well as in more specialized applications such as fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers.

Sensor: Optical sensors convert light into electronic signals, which are then interpreted by a computer. They serve a variety of purposes, including measuring changes in light; interpreting light data to create images; generating electricity; measuring temperature, speed, pressure, and vibration; counting or positioning of parts; and enabling non-contact inspection.

Spectroscopy: Spectrometers use optical elements to diffract incoming light detected by a sensor down to its most fundamental spectrum. Every substance has a unique spectral fingerprint. Modern spectrometers are equipped with spectral fingerprint databases for rapid identification and data collection. Types of spectroscopy include Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet spectroscopy. Spectroscopy has applications in biology, medicine, forensics, food safety, and astronomy.

III: Photonics in our world

Aerospace: Aircraft, drones, spacecraft and satellites rely on photonic technology for aerospace navigation and information. LiDAR-equipped aircraft are capable of conducting difficult or dangerous inspections and surveys. Holograms are used in heads-up displays, particularly in military aircraft environments. Drones use cameras, sometimes thermal or other spectral ranges, as in the case of defense, and satellites and spacecraft use sensors to monitor conditions on Earth and in space.

Agriculture: Technologies such as hyperspectral imaging, spectroscopy and machine vision are used to automate sorting, inspection and testing to improve agricultural efficiency and strengthen agricultural and food safety measures. Light management makes hydroponic greenhouse projects possible, allowing food to be grown in unsuitable climates.

Biology and Medicine: In biology and medicine, photonic technologies can improve patient safety, achieve more favorable outcomes, and detect disease earlier. Photonic technologies such as endoscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) enable minimally invasive and microsurgery, shortening recovery times and improving patient safety. Imaging technologies such as OCT can detect diseases such as glaucoma and even Alzheimer's disease earlier.

Clean energy: Photovoltaic cells in solar panels absorb the sun's rays and convert them into electricity or heat, which is more environmentally friendly. Solar panels continue to improve with the emergence of emerging photonics technologies and materials such as quantum dots, perovskites, and single-crystal thin films. Non-dispersive infrared absorption is used to assess emissions from biofuels. Geological research and environmental monitoring are enabled in part by technologies such as spectroscopy. Moreover, electronic products using organic light-emitting diodes consume less energy.

Communications: Photonics has revolutionized telecommunications, especially fiber optics, which can carry millions of calls simultaneously and significantly increase network speeds and connections. Free-space optical communication methods have been used in heliographs since about the early 20th century, and there has been renewed interest with the advent of space travel - which may improve interplanetary communications.

Consumer Electronics: Modern smartphones include front and rear cameras with LED flash, OLED displays, infrared sensors, and VCSEL lasers that allow users to unlock the phone, capture videos and pictures, and communicate information. Camera technology allows photographers and filmmakers to capture action in more challenging lighting conditions.

Environmental monitoring: Spectroscopy, infrared and ultraviolet sensing, microscopy and other photonic technologies are used to collect information about soil, water and air quality and assist in biological research. These technologies are particularly advantageous compared to older technologies because they are lossless.

Lighting: The invention of the light bulb is one of the most important inventions in history, and the development of lighting technology continues today. The current focus is on cost-effective and efficient light sources, such as LEDs, and those that meet the specific spectral requirements of research applications. LED technology creates more efficient, longer-lasting light bulbs and clearer display technology, and is increasingly used in commercial and research applications.

Manufacturing: The 21st century marks a new chapter in the era of automation in manufacturing, driven by advances in imaging and computing. Robots on assembly lines perform increasingly complex tasks such as bin sorting, where robots pick parts from bins with the help of machine vision. Lasers are also used with greater frequency in manufacturing environments where parts are cut and welded.

Transportation: As autonomous vehicles become more sophisticated, photonics is playing a larger role in the automotive and transportation industries. LiDAR and other 3D imaging technologies have become enabling technologies for self-driving cars, while other technologies, such as optical sensing to detect obstacles in blind spots, are also becoming increasingly popular in driving cars.

IV: Emerging areas

Quantum Technology: Quantum physics is another area of science that intersects with photonics. Quantum theory was first proposed by Max Planck at the turn of the 20th century and later established the theoretical basis by Albert Einstein. Quantum physics has given people a better understanding of the entire world and inspired many technologies. Quantum physics is increasingly an area of interest as classical physics is pushed to its limits. With a greater understanding of the tiniest machining of atoms and quanta, more efficient and advanced devices can be created.

Quantum sensors rely on the behavior of subatomic particles, taking advantage of the high sensitivity of quantum states. These sensors are increasingly viewed as a revelatory technology with potential applications in medicine, defence, communications and energy. They could be used for biological imaging, magnetic field sensing, and even the detection of gravitational waves, as the LIGO system accomplished in 2015.

Quantum computing has made great strides in what is often referred to as the "race for quantum supremacy," where quantum computers are able to outperform traditional supercomputer systems or complete tasks that have been traditionally impossible. In October 2019, Google announced quantum supremacy with its 54-qubit processor Sycamore. The processor can complete a random number processing task in 200 seconds, which Google claims would take a supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. IBM disputed the claim, saying its Summit supercomputer could complete the task in 2.5 days.

Quantum computing has a significant impact on national network security, thus triggering a fight for quantum supremacy. Quantum computers have the potential to break through state-of-the-art security systems based on conventional computing in seconds. The strong incentive worldwide to develop quantum technologies is evident in the significant increase in government funding for this task.

Silicon Photonics: The growing demand for data storage in data centers and the emergence of 5G technology are driving the growth of the silicon photonic transceiver market.

Today, silicon nanophotonics technology is already being used for system-to-system connectivity in data centers. In the future, this technology will find its way into the connections between chips within servers, and eventually into the connections between parts on the chip. This evolution was a response to the difficulty of moving electrons at increasingly higher speeds over shorter and shorter distances. Until recently, the state-of-the-art transmission rate on data center links was 100 Gbit/s. The industry will soon deploy 400 Gbit/s, and even faster speeds are coming. Increased transmission rates mean silicon nanophotonics solutions will penetrate deeper into communications structures. Data center applications are now the main commercial interest, with future applications for gyroscopes and lidar expected.

Optogenetics: Optogenetics is the use of light to control cells in living tissue, typically neurons that have been genetically modified to express light-sensitive ion channels. This technology furthers the understanding of how specific cell types contribute to the function of biological tissues, such as neural circuits. It has also led to an in-depth understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's disease, autism, dissociative identity disorder, substance abuse, anxiety and depression.

Surface Plasmons: The photonics subset of the quantum unit that studies plasma is called plasmons. According to Nature Photonics, this science exploits the coupling of light with charges such as electrons in metals and allows breaking the diffraction limit that localizes light into subwavelength dimensions. The technology is an emerging field, but issues with energy loss in certain spectral regions still exist. Potential applications of plasmons include chemical and biological sensing, subwavelength imaging and hyperspectroscopy, negative refractive index materials and invisibility, and solar cells.