Mid-infrared photonics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Using gas cells for spectroscopic studies opens possibility for miniaturized platforms that can be integrated with other optical components. Here the authors demonstrate molecular rovibrational spectroscopy by confining molecules in a cell of subwavelength thickness.

    • Guadalupe Garcia Arellano
    • , Joao Carlos de Aquino Carvalho
    •  & Athanasios Laliotis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mid-infrared hyperspectral imaging is valuable for sample characterisation but suffers limited scanning rates. The authors develop such an imaging system based on parametric upconversion of supercontinuum illumination in the Fourier plane, enabling a 100-Hz acquisition rate of spectral datacubes.

    • Jianan Fang
    • , Kun Huang
    •  & Heping Zeng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Exploring the miniaturization of imaging systems, researchers use inverse-design for broadband meta-optics in the LWIR spectrum. Here, authors achieve a six-fold Strehl ratio improvement in image quality over conventional metalenses using a novel design and computational techniques.

    • Luocheng Huang
    • , Zheyi Han
    •  & Arka Majumdar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multifunctional active mid-infrared ring resonators and directional couplers with quantum cascade laser cores allow electrical control of resonant frequency and quality factors, tunable filtering and frequency comb generation.

    • Dmitry Kazakov
    • , Theodore P. Letsou
    •  & Federico Capasso

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this work, authors report a transparent dynamic infrared emissivity modulation mechanism based on reversible injection/extraction of electrons in aluminium-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals and demonstrate it for smart thermal management applications.

    • Yan Jia
    • , Dongqing Liu
    •  & Tianwen Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present a fast mid-infrared hyperspectral chemical imaging technique that uses chirped pulse upconversion of sub-cycle pulses at the image plane, with lateral resolution of 15 µm and an adjustable field of view and large spectral range. They demonstrate identification and mapping different components in a microfluidic device, plant cell, and mouse embryo.

    • Yue Zhao
    • , Shota Kusama
    •  & Takao Fuji

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors show computationally optimized, multilayer scattering structures in the mid-infrared for high efficiency imaging. Multispectral and polarization sorting devices are fabricated via two-photon lithography and characterized optically.

    • Gregory Roberts
    • , Conner Ballew
    •  & Andrei Faraon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present an implementation of mid-infrared single-photon computational imaging with a single-element silicon detector. In addition to unique features of single-pixel simplicity and room-temperature operation, the infrared imager offers a superior sensitivity at the single-photon level.

    • Yinqi Wang
    • , Kun Huang
    •  & Heping Zeng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors introduce and demonstrate cross-comb spectroscopy in the mid-infrared as a variant of dual-comb spectroscopy. It provides enhanced performance and allows mid-infrared spectral information to be obtained by near-infrared detection.

    • Mingchen Liu
    • , Robert M. Gray
    •  & Alireza Marandi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Developing longwave infrared technology hide intrinsic challenges but at the same time is important to develop sensing and imaging for detection, ranging, and monitoring systems. Here the authors demonstrate the fabrication of high-quality microresonators in the LWIR with the simple use of native germanium.

    • Dingding Ren
    • , Chao Dong
    •  & David Burghoff

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mid-infrared photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are important for sensing and optical communications, but their operational wavelengths are usually limited below 4 μm. Here, the authors report the realization of photothermoelectric graphene photodetectors incorporated in a chalcogenide glass-on-CaF2 PIC operating at 5.2 μm, showing promising results for gas sensing applications.

    • Jordan Goldstein
    • , Hongtao Lin
    •  & Dirk Englund

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Infrared spectroscopy with plasmonic nanoantennas is limited by small overlap between molecules and hot spots, and sharp resonance peaks. The authors demonstrate spectral multiplexing of hook nanoantennas with gradient dimensions as ultrasensitive vibrational probes in a continuous ultra-broadband region and utilize machine learning for enhanced sensing performance.

    • Zhihao Ren
    • , Zixuan Zhang
    •  & Chengkuo Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present a simple yet effective solution to dramatically boost the performances of an upconversion imaging system, which leads to unprecedented mid-infrared imaging features with large field of view, single-photon sensitivity and a MHz-level frame rate.

    • Kun Huang
    • , Jianan Fang
    •  & Heping Zeng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chip-based architectures for mid-infrared gas sensing could enable many applications. In this direction, the authors demonstrate a microcomb-based dual-comb spectroscopy sensor with GHz resolution in the mid-IR band, with stability completely determined by a single high-Q microresonator.

    • Chengying Bao
    • , Zhiquan Yuan
    •  & Kerry J. Vahala

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Free-space communication in the mid-IR domain has many potential applications, but security is still challenging. Here, the authors use chaos synchronization in a QCL-based free-space link as a way to increase privacy of such transmissions.

    • Olivier Spitz
    • , Andreas Herdt
    •  & Frédéric Grillot

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Broadband integrated electrical modulators are key components for photonic systems. Here, the authors present a room temperature mid-IR free-space amplitude modulator based on a semiconductor heterostructure that exploits the change in reflectance occurring at the change between weak and strong coupling.

    • Stefano Pirotta
    • , Ngoc-Linh Tran
    •  & Raffaele Colombelli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantized circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) is predicted in chiral topological semimetals, but the experimental observation remains challenging. Here, Ni et al. observe a large topological longitudinal photocurrent in CoSi, which is much larger than the photocurrent in any other chiral crystals, indicating quantized CPGE within reach upon doping and increase of the hot-carrier lifetime.

    • Zhuoliang Ni
    • , K. Wang
    •  & Liang Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors investigate the polarization-dependent optical characteristics of cavities formed using α-MoO3 to extend the degrees of freedom in the design of IR photonic components exploiting the in-plane anisotropy of this material. Absorption over 80% and polarization conversion is reported without the need for nanoscale fabrication.

    • Sina Abedini Dereshgi
    • , Thomas G. Folland
    •  & Koray Aydin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High-index dielectric materials are in great demand for nanophotonic applications. Here, the authors show that chalcogenide topological insulators are suitable candidates for dielectric nanophotonics in the infrared spectral range by reporting resonances in Bi2Te3 crystals sustained in the mid-infrared.

    • H. N. S. Krishnamoorthy
    • , G. Adamo
    •  & C. Soci

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Germanium (based) lasers are a promising route towards a fully CMOS-compatible light source, key to the further development of silicon photonics. Here, the authors realize lasing from strained germanium microbridges up to 100 K, finding a quantum efficiency close to 100%.

    • F. T. Armand Pilon
    • , A. Lyasota
    •  & H. Sigg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Terahertz frequency combs are highly desired for applications in precision measurements, sensing, spectroscopy and metrology. Here the authors demonstrate the room-temperature chip-based THz frequency comb using nonlinear frequency generation from a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser comb.

    • Quanyong Lu
    • , Feihu Wang
    •  & Manijeh Razeghi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mid-IR optics can require exotic materials or complicated processing, which can result in high cost and inferior quality. Here the authors report the demonstration of high-efficiency mid-IR transmissive lenses based on dielectric Huygens metasurface, showing diffraction limited focusing and imaging performance.

    • Li Zhang
    • , Jun Ding
    •  & Juejun Hu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Highly sensitive trace-gas detection is possible in the mid-infrared range with transparent microresonators. Here, the authors directly measure the necessary ultra-high quality factors of microresonators made from fluoride crystal materials using a tapered chalcogenide fibre.

    • C. Lecaplain
    • , C. Javerzac-Galy
    •  & T. J. Kippenberg

  • Article |

    Compact, tunable terahertz sources are highly desired for sensing and imaging applications. Here Vijayraghavan et al. demonstrate room-temperature quantum cascade laser sources based on the non-linear optical conversion of mid-infrared light that provide a tunable output over a 3.5-THz bandwidth.

    • Karun Vijayraghavan
    • , Yifan Jiang
    •  & Mikhail A. Belkin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical frequency combs are vital tools for precision measurements, and extending them further into the mid-infrared 'molecular fingerprint' range will open new avenues for spectroscopy. Using crystalline microresonators, Wang et al. demonstrate Kerr combs at 2.5 μm as a promising route into the mid-infrared.

    • C. Y. Wang
    • , T. Herr
    •  & T. J. Kippenberg

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