February 2023 Issue
Feature Articles
Wanted: Optics and Photonics Technicians
The optics community continues to wrestle with a shortage of skilled technical workers for labs and shop floors—a decades-long problem that could hold back the industry’s growth.
by Stewart Wills
Meet Optica’s 2023 Fellows
Congratulations to the 109 members of the 2023 class of Optica Fellow Members.
by Meredith Smith, Kari Apter and Kiran BalanDepartments and Columns
Research and Industry News
On-chip femtosecond pulses / Fast 3D imaging / Magnetic reconnection / Predicting telescope performance / Erbium and quantum networks / Lasers and memory / Industry news
The Road to Ignition
On 5 December 2022, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), USA, demonstrated fusion ignition for the first time. Here we look at key events at NIF leading to ignition.
The Optics Behind Laser Fusion
OPN talks with Tayyab Suratwala of the US National Ignition Facility.
From Bad Ideas Come Good Ideas
Innovative ideas are often generated or refined by effective brainstorming.
Printing in 3D
Envisioned as a potential method for manufacturing since the 1940s, 3D printing saw technological success only several decades later.
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Also in this Issue
A Workforce Worry
The potential shortfall in photonic technicians is troubling.
30, 20, and 10 Years Ago in OPN
Semiconductor materials; periodic structures; artificial photosynthesis.
News from the Society
Laser Congress / Optica Fellow stories / Optica community / Resource for journal authors / Johnson named Advocate of Optics / GEMM Asia summit / Remembering Arvind Marathay / Optica at ANZCOP / NAI inductees / Thank you, editors and volunteers
Glowing Raindrops
Droplets from a rainstorm collect on the panoramic glass roof of an early Tesla Model 3. The unique color is indicative of a multi-layer dichroic coating—presumably for both UV and IR blocking since the car stays quite cool in the Arizona sun.
