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Recently, the possibility of achieving one-way backscatter immune transportation of light by mimicking the topological properties of certain solid state systems, such as topological insulators, has received much attention. Thus far, however, demonstrations of nontrivial topology in photonics have relied on photonic crystals with precisely engineered lattice structures, periodic on the scale of the operational wavelength and composed of finely tuned, complex materials. Here we propose a novel effective medium approach towards achieving topologically protected photonic surface states robust against disorder on all length scales and for a wide range of material parameters. Remarkably, the nontrivial topology of our metamaterial design results from the Berry curvature arising from the transversality of electromagnetic waves in a homogeneous medium. Our investigation therefore acts to bridge the gap between the advancing field of topological band theory and classical optical phenomena such as the spin Hall effect of light. The effective medium route to topological phases will pave the way for highly compact one-way transportation of electromagnetic waves in integrated photonic circuits.

More is demanded from ophthalmic treatments using contact lenses, which are currently used by over 125 million people around the world. Improving the material of contact lenses (CLs) is a now rapidly evolving discipline. These materials are developing alongside the advances made in related biomaterials for applications such as drug delivery. Contact lens materials are typically based on polymer- or silicone-hydrogel, with additional manufacturing technologies employed to produce the final lens. These processes are simply not enough to meet the increasing demands from CLs and the ever-increasing number of contact lens (CL) users. This review provides an advanced perspective on contact lens materials, with an emphasis on materials science employed in developing new CLs. The future trends for CL materials are to graft, incapsulate, or modify the classic CL material structure to provide new or improved functionality. In this paper, we discuss some of the fundamental material properties, present an outlook from related emerging biomaterials, and provide viewpoints of precision manufacturing in CL development.

Weyl particles are elusive relativistic fermionic particles with vanishing mass. While not having been found as an elementary particle, they are found to emerge in solid-state materials where three-dimensional bands develop a topologically protected point-like crossing, a so-called Weyl point. Photonic Weyl points have been recently realised in three-dimensional photonic crystals with complex structures. Here we report the presence of a novel type of plasmonic Weyl points in a naturally existing medium—magnetized plasma, in which Weyl points arise as crossings between purely longitudinal plasma modes and transverse helical propagating modes. These photonic Weyl points are right at the critical transition between a Weyl point with the traditional closed finite equifrequency surfaces and the newly proposed ‘type II' Weyl points with open equifrequency surfaces. Striking observable features of plasmon Weyl points include a half k-plane chirality manifested in electromagnetic reflection. Our study introduces Weyl physics into homogeneous photonic media, which could pave way for realizing new topological photonic devices.

On-machine and in-process surface metrology are important for quality control in manufacturing of precision surfaces. The classifications, requirements and tasks of on-machine and in-process surface metrology are addressed. The state-of-the-art on-machine and in-process measurement systems and sensor technologies are presented. Error separation algorithms for removing machine tool errors, which is specially required in on-machine and in-process surface metrology, are overviewed, followed by a discussion on calibration and traceability. Advanced techniques on sampling strategies, measurement systems-machine tools interface, data flow and analysis as well as feedbacks for compensation manufacturing are then demonstrated. Future challenges and developing trends are also discussed.

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