Optics and photonics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors report a terahertz detector with a Q value of 1017, embedded in a Tamm cavity and offers a 469 MHz bandwidth. It features an Nb5N6 microbolometer in an Si/air DBR and metal reflector, with tunable resonant frequency via substrate layer thickness.

    • Xuecou Tu
    • , Yichen Zhang
    •  & Peiheng Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Halide perovskite/2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) heterostructures hold promise for photonic/optoelectronic applications, but their bottom-up growth remains challenging. Here, the authors report a van der Waals heteroepitaxy strategy to synthesize various halide perovskite/TMD heterostructures with enhanced lasing performance.

    • Liqiang Zhang
    • , Yiliu Wang
    •  & Xidong Duan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Authors demonstrate a fidelity-restorable universal integrated linear optical circuit that relies on a novel 4 × 4 silicon photonic crossbar architecture. Its experimental characterization yields a fidelity of 99.93 ± 0.06%, calculated over 10,000 matrices.

    • Miltiadis Moralis-Pegios
    • , George Giamougiannis
    •  & Nikos Pleros

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Authors measure the amplification of electromagnetic waves scattered by a rotating metallic cylinder, gaining mechanical rotational energy from the body, as predicted by Zel’dovich in 1971.

    • M. C. Braidotti
    • , A. Vinante
    •  & H. Ulbricht

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors demonstrate the experimental generation and mode conversion of spatiotemporal Laguerre/Hermite-Gaussian wavepackets with controllable dual quantum numbers by imprinting two-dimensional complex modulation onto the spectrum of ultrashort laser pulses, opening new possibilities for spatiotemporally sculpturing of light.

    • Xin Liu
    • , Qian Cao
    •  & Qiwen Zhan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Authors demonstrate a net heat flux between two objects at averagely zero temperature gradient, exploring the nonlinear thermal emissivity based on phase change materials.

    • Yuxuan Li
    • , Yongdi Dang
    •  & Yungui Ma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structured vortex light with orbital angular momentum (OAM) holds promise for various optical applications, but its on-chip electrical detection remains challenging. Here, the authors report the realization of photothermoelectric OAM detectors based on 2D PdSe2 and spin-Hall surface plasmonic polariton couplers.

    • Mingjin Dai
    • , Chongwu Wang
    •  & Qi Jie Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plasmons polaritons, or collective excitations of electrons and electromagnetic fields, have been rarely studied in layered correlated materials. Shiravi et al. report hyperbolic plasmon polaritons in thin flakes of the Kagome metal CsV3Sb5 and discuss correlation effects on their formation and tunability.

    • H. Shiravi
    • , A. Gupta
    •  & G. X. Ni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A cascadable all-optical NOT gate is a requirement for full-logic in optical computing. By introducing the concept of non-ground-state polariton amplification in organic semiconductor microcavities, the authors realized the operation of an all-optical cascadable universal gate.

    • Denis A. Sannikov
    • , Anton V. Baranikov
    •  & Pavlos G. Lagoudakis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors develop overtone photothermal microscopy that leverages a pump-probe detection of second overtone vibrations within the shortwave-infrared (SWIR) window. This technique complements existing large-scale SWIR imaging approaches, offering enhanced resolution and sensitivity for bioimaging applications.

    • Le Wang
    • , Haonan Lin
    •  & Ji-Xin Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors demonstrate a cavity enhancement of single artificial atoms at telecommunication wavelengths in silicon by coupling them to highly optimized photonic crystal cavities, showing intensity enhancement and highly pure single-photon emission.

    • Valeria Saggio
    • , Carlos Errando-Herranz
    •  & Dirk Englund

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lasers drive modern research and technology. The modes of laser resonators are crucial for understanding complex cavities, beam propagation, and structured light. Here, the authors experimentally observe a new family of fundamental laser modes with inherent parabolic symmetry: the Boyer-Wolf Gaussian modes.

    • Konrad Tschernig
    • , David Guacaneme
    •  & Miguel A. Bandres

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-contact Brillouin microscopy holds potential to disrupt mechanobiology, yet this method faces challenges in presence of strong Rayleigh scattering. Here, the authors introduce a common-path birefringent filter exhibiting ultra-high extinction ratio to investigate turbid biological samples.

    • Giuseppe Antonacci
    • , Renzo Vanna
    •  & Giulio Cerullo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optoretinography-based detection of phototransduction and cell deformations in the retina has been mostly centered on photoreceptors. Here, the authors use prolonged and multilayered optoretinography to study light-evoked deformations in rod photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, and subretinal space.

    • Bingyao Tan
    • , Huakun Li
    •  & Tong Ling

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Authors demonstrate the synthesis and characterization of direct bandgap quantum wells in the hexagonal Si1−xGex system. Photoluminescence experiments show light emission up to room temperature, and the emission wavelength can be tuned by thickness of the wells and the Si composition.

    • Wouter H. J. Peeters
    • , Victor T. van Lange
    •  & Erik P. A. M. Bakkers

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Detection of membrane potential changes using voltage indicators typically requires fast imaging rates and highly sensitive imaging methods. Here, the authors introduce scanless two-photon imaging, an approach which enables high signal to noise ratio voltage recordings at kilohertz rates, from multiple neurons simultaneously, both in vitro and in vivo.

    • Ruth R. Sims
    • , Imane Bendifallah
    •  & Valentina Emiliani

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors develop a subwavelength nonreciprocal optical component harnessing the effect is thermal phase transition of VO2 boosted by the Mie resonant response of the dielectric meta-surface.

    • Aditya Tripathi
    • , Chibuzor Fabian Ugwu
    •  & Sergey S. Kruk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors propose a method for de-scanning the axial focus movement in the detection arm of a fluorescence microscope, enabling aberration-free, multi-color, volumetric imaging. They acquire dual-colour image stacks with an axial range of 70 μm and camera-limited acquisition speed.

    • Hassan Dibaji
    • , Ali Kazemi Nasaban Shotorban
    •  & Tonmoy Chakraborty

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors develop a dispersive Fourier transform (DFT) based LIDAR method utilizing phase-locked Vernier dual soliton laser combs and demonstrate improved precision in the measurements.

    • Bing Chang
    • , Teng Tan
    •  & Baicheng Yao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present a diffractive optical processor that approximates optical phase conjugation operation without any digital computing. This compact and all-optical wavefront processor can be used for various applications, including turbidity suppression and aberration correction.

    • Che-Yung Shen
    • , Jingxi Li
    •  & Aydogan Ozcan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The realization of intrinsically stretchable organic photovoltaics with excellent mechanical robustness remains challenging. Here, the authors redistribute the strain in the active layer to PEDOT:PSS electrodes with simultaneously enhanced stretchability and interfacial adhesion in the device.

    • Jiachen Wang
    • , Yuto Ochiai
    •  & Takao Someya

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Topological waves and their exotic properties are attracting intense research interest. Here, the authors report on the discovery of supertoroidal electromagnetic pulses with robust skyrmionic topology that persists upon propagation over arbitrarily long distances.

    • Yijie Shen
    • , Nikitas Papasimakis
    •  & Nikolay I. Zheludev

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Implementing point spread function (PSF) engineering in high-throughput microscopy has proved challenging. Here, the authors propose a compact PSF engineering approach, which allows for enhanced depth of field and for the recovery of 3D information using single snapshots.

    • Nadav Opatovski
    • , Elias Nehme
    •  & Yoav Shechtman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recently, long spin coherence times have been predicted for spin defects in simple oxides. Here, by using high-throughput first-principles calculations, the authors identify promising spin defects in CaO, with electronic properties similar to those of NV centers but with longer coherence times.

    • Joel Davidsson
    • , Mykyta Onizhuk
    •  & Giulia Galli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transition metal perovskite oxide membranes are promising platforms for infrared polaritonics. Here, the authors experimentally demonstrate highly confined epsilon-near-zero modes and propagating surface phonon polaritons in high-quality SrTiO3 membranes with deep subwavelength thickness.

    • Ruijuan Xu
    • , Iris Crassee
    •  & Yin Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Perturbing a physical system, for example, picking a guitar string to make it vibrate, tells a lot about its intrinsic properties. Here the authors show that such concepts hold even for quantum gases of light, which respond to a perturbation with the same dynamics as they fluctuate on their own.

    • Alexander Sazhin
    • , Vladimir N. Gladilin
    •  & Julian Schmitt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    On-chip optical sensing and metrology systems are rapidly progressing, but CMOS-compatible silicon light sources remain a challenge. This work demonstrates a broadband, foundry integrated silicon waveguide emitter and the theory that describes it.

    • Marcel W. Pruessner
    • , Nathan F. Tyndall
    •  & Todd H. Stievater

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors introduce a highspeed acquisition technique, sHAPR, for rapid exploration of biodynamics using fluorescence microscopy. The method leverages sCMOS cameras and custom fibre optics to convert microscopy images into 1D recordings, enabling acquisition at the maximum camera readout rate.

    • Biagio Mandracchia
    • , Corey Zheng
    •  & Shu Jia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    By resonant pumping the organic cation in 2D perovskite, Fu et al. report the electronic and mechanical couplings between the organic and inorganic sublattices, evidenced by the reduced bandgap and modified lattice degree of freedom within the inorganic sublattice, and slow heat transfer process.

    • Jianhui Fu
    • , Tieyuan Bian
    •  & Tze Chien Sum

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors demonstrate ultrabroadband, polarisation-independent directional control of thermal radiation using a pixelated micro-emitter, and produce large emissivity contrast at different directions, with potential applications to radiative cooling, infrared spectroscopy and thermophotovoltaics.

    • Ziwei Fan
    • , Taeseung Hwang
    •  & Zi Jing Wong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lee et al. developed ultrathin metallic (metal filling ratios of > 70 %) metamaterials that exhibit perfect transmission at a specific radar frequency. These characteristics enable microwave transparent, low-sheet-resistance radar heaters for safe autonomous driving in extreme weather.

    • Eun-Joo Lee
    • , Jun-Young Kim
    •  & Sun-Kyung Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Efficient radiation is essential to reach thermodynamic limit of photovoltaic efficiency. Here, authors design thick quantum barriers to suppress interfacial quenching and boost photon recycling in perovskite cells, achieving high radiation and photovoltaic efficiencies and long device stability.

    • Kyung Mun Yeom
    • , Changsoon Cho
    •  & Jun Hong Noh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The researchers showcase a silicon-photonics-based analog approach for large-scale image processing that can be deployed for high-speed image compression and de-noising using an auto-encoder framework with minimal power consumption.

    • Xiao Wang
    • , Brandon Redding
    •  & Raktim Sarma

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