Scientific community and society articles within Nature Photonics

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  • Article |

    A stretchable polymer LED is fabricated that is capable of emitting light when subjected to strains as large as 120%. A prototype 5 × 5 pixel monochrome display based on an array of these LEDs is demonstrated.

    • Jiajie Liang
    • , Lu Li
    •  & Qibing Pei

  • Editorial |

    Photonics societies in the USA join forces in the National Photonics Initiative to increase photonics research and development, grow the USA economy and improve national security.

  • Editorial |

    To promote transparency and honesty, it is important for corresponding authors to divulge any financial interests that may affect how their articles are perceived.

  • Commentary |

    Governments are demanding more value for money from scientists, which is putting fundamental research under increasing pressure. Scientists should know how to champion it more effectively.

    • John M. Dudley

  • Editorial |

    Obtaining new insights into yet unexplained phenomena and making the impossible possible are among the main motivations for any scientist. Going beyond limitations is the key challenge.

  • Editorial |

    2012 was an eventful year for optics and photonics, pointing to an exciting yet challenging year ahead.

  • Commentary |

    The opening of the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics in Glasgow will provide valuable and much-needed support for the photonics industry in the UK.

    • Oliver Graydon

  • News & Views |

    Silicon photonics and devices based on group IV elements are overcoming the tough economic downturns that have rocked industry over the past 12 years. Cross fertilization between academia and industry may lead to new devices that are both innovative and profitable.

    • David Pile

  • Editorial |

    Assumptions, educated guesses and intuition are often unavoidably involved in the study of new phenomena, and scientists may therefore make mistakes at the outset. However, this is part of the research process and sometimes brilliant mistakes can lead to unexpected discoveries.

  • Editorial |

    Closer collaboration between physicists, engineers and biologists is vital for the future success of biophotonics.

  • Interview |

    Brillouin scattering threatens to limit continued power-scaling for many fibre applications, but sapphire-derived all-glass fibres with large concentrations of alumina may help to eliminate this problem. Nature Photonics spoke to Peter Dragic and John Ballato to learn more.

    • David Pile

  • Interview |

    Researchers around the world now have access to a second hard-X-ray free-electron laser facility: the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free-Electron Laser in Japan. Nature Photonics spoke to Makina Yabashi and Hitoshi Tanaka from the facility about their achievements and plans for the future.

    • David Pile

  • Interview |

    Twisted light beams with different values of orbital angular momentum can be used to provide dramatic increases in the capacity of free-space optical communications. Nature Photonics spoke to Alan Willner at the University of Southern California to find out more.

  • Editorial |

    Why do we need statements to define the contributions made by each author? Does this practice help or hinder scientists, and which demographic is most affected?

  • Interview |

    Nature Photonics spoke to Kim Ta Phuoc about an extremely bright and compact X-ray and gamma-ray source that exploits laser plasma acceleration and Compton scattering simultaneously.

    • David Pile

  • News & Views |

    The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology was established in Saudi Arabia in 2009. Nature Photonics recently visited the campus to see how things are shaping up.

    • Noriaki Horiuchi

  • Editorial |

    Being open and adaptable to change can help you succeed in your career of choice.

  • Interview |

    New research suggests that graphene is not a 'miracle material' for metamaterials and plasmonics. Nature Photonics spoke to Philippe Tassin about what makes a good conductor for these applications.

    • David Pile

  • News & Views |

    Worldwide sales in the laser market grew to US$7.5 billion in 2011, recovering from a slump brought on by economic turmoil.

    • Neil Savage

  • Interview |

    The application of catastrophe theory to high-harmonic generation is creating opportunities for optimizing the spectral intensity of extreme-ultraviolet light and characterizing attosecond pulses, explains Oren Raz from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

    • Oliver Graydon

  • Interview |

    Suntech Power is the world's largest producer of solar panels and has delivered more than 20 million photovoltaic panels to more than 80 countries around the globe. Nature Photonics spoke with Stuart Wenham, chief technology officer at Suntech Power, to find out more about its activities and visions.

    • Noriaki Horiuchi

  • Interview |

    A semiconductor is usually opaque to any light whose photon energy is larger than the semiconductor bandgap. Nature Photonics spoke to Stephen Durbin about how to render GaAs semiconductor crystals transparent using intense X-ray pulses.

    • David Pile

  • Editorial |

    The ability to communicate research results to a non-specialist audience in a clear and concise manner is a skill that should not be overlooked.

  • Interview |

    The successful growth of GaN-based LEDs on amorphous glass avoids the size and cost limitations of a sapphire substrate, says Jun Hee Choi from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in South Korea.

    • Noriaki Horiuchi

  • Editorial |

    A recent salary survey conducted by SPIE indicates that optics professionals working in North America are likely to earn significantly more than those elsewhere.

  • Interview |

    Luminescent solar concentrators have long been hampered by reabsorption losses. Nature Photonics spoke to Noel Giebink about how to circumvent this effect.

    • David Pile

  • Interview |

    Optofluidics brings together light and liquids to provide technologies such as fluid waveguides, deformable lenses and microdroplet lasers. Nature Photonics spoke to Frances Ligler about the origins of the field and where it might be heading.

    • David Pile

  • Interview |

    Achieving dynamic optical control of exciton polariton quantum flow could provide a deeper understanding of quantum behaviour and inspire new types of device, says Daniele Sanvitto from the Istituto Nanoscienze in Italy.

    • Noriaki Horiuchi

  • Editorial |

    Duplicate publication dilutes science and we strive to avoid it.

  • Commentary |

    Scientists in Japan struggled in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, radiation problems and power cuts. Nevertheless, they have now largely recovered from the desperate situation.

    • Noriaki Horiuchi

  • Interview |

    Optically pulling a particle towards a light source may be counterintuitive, but it is not impossible. Jack Ng tells Nature Photonics how this force can be achieved.

    • Rachel Won

  • Interview |

    Chalcogenide glasses are attracting significant attention thanks to their mid-infrared transparency and highly nonlinear properties. Nadya Anscombe talks to Dan Hewak from the University of Southampton in the UK.

    • Nadya Anscombe

  • Industry Perspective |

    The photosensitive optical fibre — a work-horse of the telecommunications industry for many years — is now seeing rapid uptake in the sensor and laser industries.

    • Andy Gillooly

  • Industry Perspective |

    Important developments in fibre technology now allow the realization of fibre lasers with reliable and stable single-mode operation at power levels beyond 1 kW.

    • Bryce Samson
    • , Adrian Carter
    •  & Kanishka Tankala

  • Editorial |

    Peer review is arguably the most important process a paper must pass through on its journey to being published in a journal.

  • Interview |

    The use of intense ultrafast terahertz pulses to gate superconductivity not only provides insights into charge transport in such materials but may also lead to new forms of data switching, explains Andrea Cavalleri.

    • Noriaki Horiuchi

  • Interview |

    Researchers have now shown that lasers — usually thought of as being inanimate optoelectronic instruments — can also be made from certain biological gain media. Nature Photonics spoke to Malte C. Gather and Seok Hyun Yun about their realization of a living single-cell laser.

    • David Pile

  • Interview |

    Since the first discovery of optical gradient and scattering forces in 1970, optical tweezers have helped unveil many mysteries and given deeper insights in many areas of science. Arthur Ashkin, the father of optical tweezers, recalls some 'eureka' moments and shares his viewpoint of the field with Nature Photonics.

    • Rachel Won

  • Interview |

    Researchers in Europe have demonstrated that an optical fast Fourier transformation technique can be used to efficiently encode and decode information at rates of terabits per second in a single laser source.

    • Rachel Won

  • Editorial |

    Would you welcome or loathe the ability to post online comments on articles published in Nature Photonics?

  • Interview |

    Adaptive optics has a huge range of applications. Nadya Anscombe talks to Robert Tyson, associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the USA, to find out his views on its future.

    • Nadya Anscombe

  • Profile |

    When AOptix Technologies was set up in 2000 to exploit adaptive optics in laser communications systems, its future looked bright. But, as Nadya Anscombe finds out, the company has had to adapt to changes in the market and find new applications for its technology.

    • Nadya Anscombe

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