Accurate measurements of dual parameters of phase retardance and retardance axis of birefringent materials are of fundamental importance to their fabrication and applications. However, current techniques typically exhibit limited versatility, suffering from high complexity, insufficient accuracy, and low efficiency. In this study, an anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect is proposed and demonstrated for birefringence measurement, featuring simultaneous dual-parameter demodulation, unified polarization modulation-analysis architecture, high detection sensitivity, user-friendly operation, and versatile functionality. Importantly, such system can be self-calibrated with its own physical phenomena to reduce the installation derivation. To showcase the powerful effectiveness, we perform the static birefringence, dynamic birefringence variation, and spatial birefringence distribution, which remarkably exhibits the standard deviation of 0.0453° and 0.0939° for phase retardance and retardance axis azimuth, with the limit allowable sample transmittance around 10^-5. This work demonstrates comprehensive applicability across diverse birefringence scenarios, extending the application of anisotropic laser feedback polarization effect, while establishing a novel strategy for birefringence measurement.

This comprehensive review systematically links ML’s application in metal AM quality control, from multi-physics field prediction to real-time closed-loop control. It offers a novel roadmap for researchers, demonstrating how ML can decode complex process-structure-property relationships and enable adaptive, intelligent manufacturing.

Researchers from the University of Jaffna and Imperial College London have uncovered critical insights into optimizing Na₂FeSiO₄, a low-cost, abundant cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Published in Front. Energy, their computational study pinpoints ideal dopants and reveals favorable ion transport properties, bringing SIBs— a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries—closer to large-scale energy storage applications.

Researchers Kohki Horie, Keiichiro Toda, Takuma Nakamura, and Takuro Ideguchi of the University of Tokyo have built a microscope that can detect a signal over an intensity range fourteen times wider than conventional microscopes. Moreover, the observations are made label-free, that is, without the use of additional dyes. This means the method is gentle on cells and adequate for long-term observations, holding potential for testing and quality control applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Recently, a research team led by Professor Li-sheng Geng from Beihang University published a paper titled "Femtoscopy can tell whether Zc(3900) and Zcs3985 are resonances, virtual states, or bound states" in Science Bulletin. This study demonstrates for the first time that the femtoscopic technique can effectively distinguish whether the tetraquark candidates Zc(3900)/Zcs3985 near the D0D*-/D0Ds*- thresholds are resonances, virtual states, or bound states, which helps deepen the understanding of the non-perturbative nature of Quantum Chromodynamics.