Researchers from AMOLF, in collaboration with Delft University of Technology, have achieved a significant breakthrough in manipulating light at the nanoscale. Their work, published in Nature Photonics, demonstrates a novel technique to bring light waves to a complete standstill by deforming a two-dimensional photonic crystal. This finding, achieved independently by a team at Pennsylvania State University published in the same journal, holds immense potential for the development of nanophotonic devices. The Challenge: Controlling Light Like Electrons Manipulating the flow of light in materials …