EurekAlert! Science News:

An Army-funded landmark discovery at New York University could change the way that researchers develop and use optical technologies, such as lasers, sensors, and photonic circuits over the next decade.

After years of research, the team of scientists achieved what many thought was perhaps impossible: they developed a method to create colloids that crystallize into the diamond lattice. This photonic technique, published in Nature, could lead to cheap, reliable, and scalable fabrication of 3D photonic crystals for optical circuits and light filters.

These 3D photonic crystals -self-assembled formations of minuscule materials in a stable assembly- could open the door to lightweight high-efficiency lasers, precise light control with 3D photonic circuits, and new materials for managing thermal or radio signatures…

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