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Diode-pumped thin-disk lasers are now capable of generating femtosecond light pulses with a pulse energy in the microjoule regime at multi-megahertz repetition rates. This review describes the progress that has been made in scaling the performance of such lasers and the applications that may benefit as a result.
An organic LED that acts as an electrically driven source of surface plasmons is reported. The device generates a freely propagating beam of surface plasmons and has potential applications in integrated organic photonics and sensing.
Scientists exploit the use of Airy beams — an unusual class of optical waves — in optical manipulation. The beam can be used to transport particles along curved paths without moving the light beam, a technique that seems poised for many microfluidic applications especially in the biological sciences.
A design of on-chip optomechanical resonator that simultaneously maximizes a high mechanical Q-factor in the megahertz range and an ultrahigh optical finesse is reported. Studies of the mechanical properties of the cavity achieve the first direct observation of mechanical normal-mode coupling in a micromechanical system.
A millimetre-scale liquid lens that is harmonically driven and thus has an oscillating shape is demonstrated. By synchronizing the electronic timing of the image capture with the oscillations, a variable focus lens with a response time of 100 Hz is achieved. Simulations suggest that a faster response is possible for smaller lenses based on the same design.
Metamaterials, based on split-ring resonators, for example, enable complete control over electromagnetic waves in terms of both the electric and magnetic vector components. Measuring the absolute extinction cross-section of a single split-ring resonator advances our understanding of these useful materials.
The ability to efficiently transfer photons from a light source to an optical circuit is crucial, and requires efficient coupling of light to optical fibres and waveguides. Using state-of-the-art fabrication techniques, Hong-Gyu Park and colleagues create a device that uses nanowires to inject light into photonic-crystal waveguides in an efficient way. The structure could become an important part of the nanophotonics toolbox.
Attosecond spectroscopy promises real-time observation of the motion of electrons inside atoms. Nadya Anscombe talks to Ferenc Krausz from the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich in Germany about the technology.
Particle accelerators are one of the most remarkable pieces of apparatus to come out of twentieth century science. Nature Photonics spoke to Nasr Hafz who, with the help of colleagues, is working towards more compact and thus more affordable accelerators based on lasers.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Lasing in the extreme UV from a prototype compact free-electron-laser design is reported, continuing the push towards X-ray wavelengths.