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Australians call it sticky tape, English name it Sellotape, and some say Scotch tape. Whatever you call it, it is arguably responsible for the theme of this month's focus issue.
Graphene is no longer alone; a family of atomically thin 2D semiconductors has emerged. Optoelectronics and photonics applications are in their experimental infancy but the future holds much promise.
Fengnian Xia from Yale University shares his opinions with Nature Photonics on the status of research into 2D materials and their prospects for commercial applications.
Near- and mid-infrared plasmonics are exciting research areas with applications in nanoscale energy concentration, sensing or ultrafast switching for telecommunication. Now, a new efficient way to manipulate plasmon resonances in semiconductor nanoarrays at ultrafast timescales has been found.
Obtaining information about an object or medium with an unknown, random scattering potential is notoriously difficult. The projection of random illumination patterns as probe is now shown to help.
The ability to make measurements of time and fundamental physical constants with extreme precision makes it possible to test theories to ever greater levels of scrutiny. A workshop in Tokyo in January discussed the challenges involved and the progress being made.
The electronic and optical properties and the recent progress in applications of 2D semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides with emphasis on strong excitonic effects, and spin- and valley-dependent properties are reviewed.
The recent realization that 2D layered materials could modulate light with superior performance has prompted intense research and significant advances, paving the way for realistic applications.
Researchers demonstrate graphene plasmon edge modes at infrared wavelengths. Such modes may offer additional electromagnetic field confinement compared with conventional sheet modes.
A three-photon entangled state with 3 × 3 × 2 dimensions of its orbital angular momentum is created by using two independent entangled photon pairs from two nonlinear crystals, enabling the development of a new layered quantum communication protocol.
The most accurate ratio of the clock transition frequencies between Yb and Sr is measured by using a pair of cryogenic optical lattice clocks. Through common mode rejection of the clock laser noise, a uncertainty of 4.6 × 10−17 is achieved in 150 seconds.
Scientists resolve the long-debated issue of the nature and value of the bandgap in hexagonal boron nitride by providing evidence for an indirect bandgap at 5.955 eV and an exciton binding energy of about 130 meV by means of optical spectroscopy.
