Articles in 2008

Introducing coded apertures to X-ray laser holography paves a route to efficient imaging at the nanoscale.

The pollutant emissions and high-energy consumption of combustion engines using conventional spark plugs have long been serious environmental problems. Now, it has been demonstrated that lasers can provide a feasible green alternative. Duncan Graham-Rowe reports.

Photonics does not just mean optics performed at the chip-scale or below, at least not by the definition we use at Nature Photonics. Our September issue showcases research from some large-scale facilities, demonstrating the broad range of topics that the journal considers.

Researchers at Hamamatsu report an indium-free laser diode operating at 342 nm, the shortest wavelength so far for an electrically pumped semiconductor laser diode.

Laser beams have an intrinsic spread. Normally this spread is overcome using lenses or curved mirrors to focus the light, but this typically involves meticulous optical alignment. Researchers have now shown that a surface-plasmon technique can reduce the beam spread.

Laser-based accelerator technology has been given a boost thanks to researchers based in Korea, Japan and the USA. Their latest research could lead the way towards compact accelerators that can deliver brilliant electron and X-ray beams.

Supercontinua — bright broadband light pulses — are helping a plethora of applications in imaging, sensing and defence. Nature Photonics reports from Sydney, Australia.

Previously regarded as a laboratory method for the characterization of metal alloys, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is now showing great potential for field-based environmental monitoring and biohazard analysis.

Table-top laser-driven plasma accelerators have the potential advantages of being ultracompact and powerful. Electron beams can be created by irradiating gas jets with intense laser light, however, until now it has proved difficult to achieve stable, high-energy beams. Jongmin Lee and colleagues report the first generation of stable gigaelectronvolt-class electron beams using a laser-based accelerator, and make an important step along the road to future particle accelerators.

Here researchers report an integrated detection device for terahertz near-field imaging in which all the necessary detection components, that is, an aperture, a probe and a terahertz detector, are integrated on one cryogenically cooled, semiconductor chip. This scheme enables highly sensitive, high-resolution detection of the evanescent field and promises new capabilities for high-resolution terahertz imaging.

Polarization is a convenient way to encode quantum information for cryptography, remote transfer and optical quantum computing, but sharing entanglement is problematic over a noisy link. Hiding in an isolated corner of the state space can make a big difference.

Waveguides are crucial for directing light, but truly useful waveguides should confine light on the nanoscale. Researchers show that a semiconducting nanowire close to a metallic surface can confine light far below the diffraction limit and guide it over dozens of wavelengths.

Protecting your eyes is of course important when using lasers. The good news is that safety eyewear is becoming increasingly comfortable and stylish. Neil Savage reports.

What are the origins of slow-light research and where is the field heading? Nature Photonics spoke to Robert Boyd to find out.

In optical networks of the future, the ability to slow and store light pulses to optimize the flow of data is likely to become indispensable. To celebrate the importance of the topic, this issue has a special focus dedicated to slow light.

The extreme speed at which light moves, and the fact that photons do not tend to interact with transparent matter, is of enormous benefit to mankind. It allows us to see deep into the Universe and to transmit data over long distances in optical fibres. So, why slow light down?

Single-photon emission from carbon nanotubes has been observed by researchers in Switzerland. The findings give hope for a new type of light source for quantum computing and quantum communication.

Maxwell's demon has now been realized using laser light. The ability to let atoms pass one way but not the other through a light 'gate' could provide new means to cool atomic and molecular vapours.