Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) has launched the Section “Optics and Photonics”. Optics and photonics are all methodologies and technologies that use photons over the entire spectrum from X-ray to ultraviolet, visible, and infrared, to the terahertz range, and their interaction with a variety of materials. This is an evolving interdisciplinary field of research covering all the optical technologies used in life sciences and medicine. Special, new, and biocompatible materials for implants, tissue phantoms, cell printing, cell labeling, light delivery, etc., require research from scientists from various professions, such as physicists, chemists, engineers, biologists, and doctors.

We are pleased to present the 2022 Editor’s Choice Articles, a carefully curated list of high-quality articles from the Section “Optics and Photonics” listed below:

• “Bright UV-C Phosphors with Excellent Thermal Stability—Y_1−xSc_xPO₄ Solid Solutions”
  by Dmitry Spassky, Andrey Vasil’ev, Vitali Nagirnyi, Irina Kudryavtseva, Dina Deyneko, Ivan Nikiforov, Ildar Kondratyev and Boris Zadneprovski
  Materials 2022, 15(19), 6844; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196844
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6844

• “Experimental and Computational Studies on Bio-Inspired Flavylium Salts as Sensitizers for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells”
  by Iulia Păușescu, Anamaria Todea, Diana-Maria Dreavă, Tania Boboescu, Bianca Pațcan, Larisa Pațcan, Daiana Albulescu, Valentin Badea, Francisc Peter, Róbert Tőtős et al.
  Materials 2022, 15(19), 6985; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196985
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/19/6985

• “Sol-Gel Derived Silica-Titania Waveguide Films for Applications in Evanescent Wave Sensors—Comprehensive Study”
  by Paweł Karasiński, Magdalena Zięba, Ewa Gondek, Jacek Nizioł, Sandeep Gorantla, Krzysztof Rola, Alicja Bachmatiuk and Cuma Tyszkiewicz
  Materials 2022, 15(21), 7641; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217641
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/21/7641

• “Tb³⁺ Ion Optical and Magneto-Optical Properties in the Cubic Crystals KTb₃F₁₀”
  by Uygun V. Valiev, Denis N. Karimov, Chong-Geng Ma, Odiljon Z. Sultonov and Vasiliy O. Pelenovich
  Materials 2022, 15(22), 7999; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15227999
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/22/7999 

• “Analysis of Acousto-Optic Figure of Merit in KGW and KYW Crystals”
  by Konstantin B. Yushkov, Natalya F. Naumenko and Vladimir Ya. Molchanov
  Materials 2022, 15(22), 8183; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15228183
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/22/8183 

• “Effect of an Anaerobic Fermentation Process on 3D-Printed PLA Materials of a Biogas-Generating Reactor”
  by Adrian Cioabla, Virgil-Florin Duma, Corina Mnerie, Ralph-Alexandru Erdelyi, George Mihai Dobre, Adrian Bradu and Adrian Podoleanu
  Materials 2022, 15(23), 8571; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238571
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/23/8571

• “Bidirectional Terahertz Vortex Beam Regulator”
  by Jiusheng Li, Fenglei Guo, Shuping Zhang and Chao Liu
  Materials 2022, 15(23), 8639; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238639
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/23/8639

• “Acousto–Optic Modulation and Deflection of Terahertz Radiation”
  by Pavel Alekseevich Nikitin, Vasily Valerievich Gerasimov and Ildus Shevketovich Khasanov
  Materials 2022, 15(24), 8836; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15248836
  Available online: www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/24/8836

• “Remarkable Reduction in IG with an Explicit Investigation of the Leakage Conduction Mechanisms in a Dual Surface-Modified Al₂O₃/SiO₂ Stack Layer AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMT”
  by Soumen Mazumder, Parthasarathi Pal, Kuan-Wei Lee and Yeong-Her Wang
  Materials 2022, 15(24), 9067; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15249067
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/24/9067

• “Deformable Photonic Crystals Based on Chiral Liquid Crystals with Thermal-Mediative Shape Memory Effect”
  by Min-Seok Park, Kitae Kim, Young-Joo Lee, Jun-Hee Na and Se-Um Kim
  Materials 2023, 16(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16010035
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/1/35

• “Nd³⁺, Yb³⁺:YF₃ Optical Temperature Nanosensors Operating in the Biological Windows”
  by Maksim Pudovkin, Ekaterina Oleynikova, Airat Kiiamov, Mikhail Cherosov and Marat Gafurov
  Materials 2023, 16(1), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16010039 
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/1/39

• “Synthesis, Structural and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt-Doped GaN Nanowires on Si by Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition”
  by Zhe Chuan Feng, Yu-Lun Liu, Jeffrey Yiin, Li-Chyong Chen, Kuei-Hsien Chen, Benjamin Klein and Ian T. Ferguson
  Materials 2023, 16(1), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16010097
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/1/97

• “UV-A,B,C Emitting Persistent Luminescent Materials”
  by Suchinder K. Sharma, Jinu James, Shailendra Kumar Gupta and Shamima Hussain
  Materials 2023, 16(1), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16010236
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/1/236

• “A Gaussian to Vector Vortex Beam Generator with a Programmable State of Polarization”
  by Jacek Piłka, Michał Kwaśny, Adam Filipkowski, Ryszard Buczyński, Mirosław A. Karpierz and Urszula A. Laudyn
  Materials 2022, 15(21), 7794; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217794
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/21/7794

• “Time-Resolved Four-Channel Jones Matrix Measurement of Birefringent Materials Using an Ultrafast Laser”
  by Zhenjia Cheng, Yuqin Zhang, Xuan Liu, Chengshan Guo, Changwei He, Guiyuan Liu and Hongsheng Song
  Materials 2022, 15(21), 7813; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217813
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/21/7813

• “Basic Characteristics of Dose Distributions of Photons Beam for Radiotherapeutic Applications Using YAG: Ce Crystal Detectors”
  by Janusz Winiecki, Sandra Witkiewicz-Lukaszek, Paulina Michalska, Seweryn Jakubowski, Sergiy Nizhankovskiy and Yuriy Zorenko
  Materials 2022, 15(21), 7861; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217861
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/21/7861

• “Polarization of Acoustic Waves in Two-Dimensional Phononic Crystals Based on Fused Silica”
  by Mikhail V. Marunin and Nataliya V. Polikarpova
  Materials 2022, 15(23), 8315; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238315
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/23/8315

• “Deep Tissue Characterization with Optical Coherence Elastography: A Comparison of Different Methods”
  by Asha Parmar, Gargi Sharma, Andreas Ramming and Kanwarpal Singh
  Materials 2022, 15(23), 8558; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238558
  Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/23/8558

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the research groups that submitted to Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944). We would appreciate it if you could circulate this document among your colleagues and network. Furthermore, the following opportunities for collaboration may be of interest:

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