Optics and photonics

Featured articles

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  Hermitian and non-Hermitian topology from photon-mediated interactions

  Topological properties of a photonic environment are crucial to engineer robust photon-mediated interactions between quantum emitters. Here, the authors find general theorems on the topology of photon-mediated interactions, unveiling the phenomena of topological preservation and reversal.

  • Federico Roccati
  • Miguel Bello
  • Angelo Carollo

  ArticleOpen Access16 Mar 2024 Nature Communications
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  Wandering principal optical axes in van der Waals triclinic materials

  Principal optical axes define light-matter interactions in crystals and they are usually assumed to be stationary. Here, the authors report the observation of wavelength-dependent principal optical axes in ternary van der Waals crystals (ReS₂ and ReSe₂), leading to wavelength-switchable propagation directions of their waveguide modes.

  • Georgy A. Ermolaev
  • Kirill V. Voronin
  • Kostya S. Novoselov

  ArticleOpen Access6 Mar 2024 Nature Communications
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  Giant intrinsic photovoltaic effect in one-dimensional van der Waals grain boundaries

  The intrinsic photovoltaic effect (IPVE) in noncentrosymmetric materials has the potential to overcome the limitations of traditional photovoltaic devices. Here, the authors report the observation of a strong and gate-tunable IPVE in 1D grain boundaries of a van der Waals semiconductor, ReS₂.

  • Yongheng Zhou
  • Xin Zhou
  • Xiaolong Chen

  ArticleOpen Access13 Jan 2024 Nature Communications
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  Nanophotonics for pair production

  The authors propose electron-positron creation by scattering of gamma-rays and polaritons, enabling the synthesis of ultrafast, localized positron sources and introducing the possibility to exploit nanophotonics for particle physics.

  • Valerio Di Giulio
  • F. Javier García de Abajo

  ArticleOpen Access11 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
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  Integrated microwave photonic notch filter using a heterogeneously integrated Brillouin and active-silicon photonic circuit

  Microwave photonic technologies are poised to revolutionise electronic systems. Here the authors integrate necessary but until now elusive, MHz-level resolution photonic processing with on-chip electro-optic components in a compact microwave photonic notch filter.

  • Matthew Garrett
  • Yang Liu
  • Benjamin J. Eggleton

  ArticleOpen Access20 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
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  Planar hyperbolic polaritons in 2D van der Waals materials

  In this Perspective, the authors illustrate the physics of hyperbolic polaritons in anisotropic 2D and 1D materials, proposing new potential material candidates, forward looking opportunities and technological applications.

  • Hongwei Wang
  • Anshuman Kumar
  • Tony Low

  PerspectiveOpen Access2 Jan 2024 Nature Communications
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  Integrated quantum optical phase sensor in thin film lithium niobate

  Squeezed light allows for quantum-enhanced, sub-shot-noise sensing, but its generation and use on a chip has so far remained elusive. Here, the authors fill this gap by demonstrating a thin-film lithium-niobate-based integrated quantum optical sensor, which beats shot-noise-limited SNR by ~ 4%.

  • Hubert S. Stokowski
  • Timothy P. McKenna
  • Amir H. Safavi-Naeini

  ArticleOpen Access8 Jun 2023 Nature Communications
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  All-silicon quantum light source by embedding an atomic emissive center in a nanophotonic cavity

  The use of silicon for integrated quantum photonic technologies is currently hindered by the lack of suitable on-demand quantum light sources. Here, the authors fill this gap by demonstrating the creation of single atomic emissive centers in silicon and their efficient coupling with nanophotonic cavities.

  • W. Redjem
  • Y. Zhiyenbayev
  • B. Kanté

  ArticleOpen Access7 Jun 2023 Nature Communications
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  Unveiling the complexity of spatiotemporal soliton molecules in real time

  The authors present the real-time spectral-temporal dynamics of 3D soliton molecules, highlighting the importance of nonlinear spatiotemporal coupling in the dynamics of spatiotemporal mode-locking.

  • Yuankai Guo
  • Wei Lin
  • Zhongmin Yang

  ArticleOpen Access11 Apr 2023 Nature Communications
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  High-order tensor flow processing using integrated photonic circuits

  Convolutional operation is a very efficient way to handle tensor analytics, but it consumes a large quantity of additional memory. Here, the authors demonstrate an integrated photonic tensor processor which directly handles high-order tensors without tensor-matrix transformation.

  • Shaofu Xu
  • Jing Wang
  • Weiwen Zou

  ArticleOpen Access28 Dec 2022 Nature Communications
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  Photonic Majorana quantum cascade laser with polarization-winding emission

  THz integrate light sources represent an important building blocks for various applications. Here the authors report an electrically driven topological laser based on photonic Majorana zero mode that can convert electricity directly into THz single-mode laser with topologically nontrivial beams.

  • Song Han
  • Yunda Chua
  • Qi Jie Wang

  ArticleOpen Access9 Feb 2023 Nature Communications
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  Mirror-induced reflection in the frequency domain

  We show frequency domain mirrors that provide reflections of optical mode propagation in the frequency domain. We theoretically investigated the mirror properties and experimentally demonstrate it using polarization and coupled-resonator-based coupling on thin film Lithium Niobate.

  • Yaowen Hu
  • Mengjie Yu
  • Marko Lončar

  ArticleOpen Access22 Oct 2022 Nature Communications
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  Chip-scale high-peak-power semiconductor/solid-state vertically integrated laser

  Here the authors demonstrate chip-scale high-peak-power lasers by vertical integration of semiconductor and solid state laser gain mediums to reach the same maturity level as existing semiconductor lasers, which are suitable for miniaturization and cost-effective mass production.

  • Jianglin Yue
  • Kenji Tanaka
  • Masanao Kamata

  ArticleOpen Access1 Oct 2022 Nature Communications
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  Phototunable chip-scale topological photonics: 160 Gbps waveguide and demultiplexer for THz 6G communication

  6G communication requires high-speed and advanced functionalities on-chip. Here the authors demonstrate broadband phototunable topological waveguide and demultiplexing chip with record single-channel 160 Gbit/s communication link and excellent channel isolation for 300 GHz band.

  • Abhishek Kumar
  • Manoj Gupta
  • Ranjan Singh

  ArticleOpen Access15 Sep 2022 Nature Communications
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  An Archimedes' screw for light

  An Archimedes’ screw pumps energy into a fluid by lifting it to a higher ground. An optical screw uses helical space-time modulations in the properties of a material to grab hold of and amplify circularly polarized light of a specific handedness.

  • Emanuele Galiffi
  • Paloma A. Huidobro
  • J. B. Pendry

  ArticleOpen Access9 May 2022 Nature Communications
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  Optical-domain spectral super-resolution via a quantum-memory-based time-frequency processor

  Spectral super-resolution methods generally apply only to laser spectroscopy. Here, thanks to a Gradient Echo Memory with time-frequency processing capabilities, the authors are able to resolve frequency differences with precision below the Fourier limit for narrowband and ultra-low input-light level.

  • Mateusz Mazelanik
  • Adam Leszczyński
  • Michał Parniak

  ArticleOpen Access4 Feb 2022 Nature Communications
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  Single-photon detection and cryogenic reconfigurability in lithium niobate nanophotonic circuits

  The combination of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors and electro-optically reconfigurable circuits in a cryogenic environment is notoriously difficult to reach. Here, the authors realise this on a Lithium-Niobate-On-Insulator platform, reaching high speed modulation at a frequency up to 1 GHz.

  • Emma Lomonte
  • Martin A. Wolff
  • Francesco Lenzini

  ArticleOpen Access25 Nov 2021 Nature Communications
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  Integrated near-infrared spectral sensing

  What are the minimal hardware requirements for a given class of sensing problems? Here, authors investigate this while proposing a miniaturized near-infrared spectral sensor, based on an array of resonant-cavity enhanced photodetectors, and capable of operating without the need for spectral reconstruction.

  • Kaylee D. Hakkel
  • Maurangelo Petruzzella
  • Andrea Fiore

  ArticleOpen Access10 Jan 2022 Nature Communications
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  Reprogrammable plasmonic topological insulators with ultrafast control

  The development of fast and dynamic topological photonic platforms is an ongoing challenge. Here, the authors demonstrate a reprogrammable plasmonic topological insulator in which ultrafast electric switches allow for nanosecond-level switching time between different configurations.

  • Jian Wei You
  • Qian Ma
  • Tie Jun Cui

  ArticleOpen Access15 Sep 2021 Nature Communications
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  Planar refraction and lensing of highly confined polaritons in anisotropic media

  Refraction between anisotropic media is still an unexplored phenomenon. Here, the authors investigate the propagation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons traversing α-MoO3 nanoprisms, showing a bending-free refraction effect and sub-diffractional focusing with foci size as small as 1/50 of the light wavelength in free space.

  • J. Duan
  • G. Álvarez-Pérez
  • P. Alonso-González

  ArticleOpen Access15 Jul 2021 Nature Communications
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  Polarization-transparent silicon photonic add-drop multiplexer with wideband hitless tuneability

  Reconfigurable wavelength-selective devices are essential components of flexible optical networks. Here the authors show a silicon-photonic add-drop multiplexer meeting the strict requirements of telecom systems in terms of broadband operation range, hitless tunability and polarization transparency.

  • Francesco Morichetti
  • Maziyar Milanizadeh
  • Andrea Melloni

  ArticleOpen Access15 Jul 2021 Nature Communications
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  Peta-bit-per-second optical communications system using a standard cladding diameter 15-mode fiber

  Space division multiplexing solutions are one way to increase future fiber information capacity. Here, the authors show peta-bit/s transmission in a standard-diameter, multimode fiber enabled by combining several practical multiplexing technologies.

  • Georg Rademacher
  • Benjamin J. Puttnam
  • Hideaki Furukawa

  ArticleOpen Access9 Jul 2021 Nature Communications
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  Spatial coherence of light inside three-dimensional media

  Light in disordered materials generates rich interference patterns called speckle, whose properties are known only on the outside of a sample. Here, the authors provide direct measurements and understanding of speckle generated inside a material, retrieving fundamental information that remained inaccessible up to now.

  • Marco Leonetti
  • Lorenzo Pattelli
  • Giancarlo Ruocco

  ArticleOpen Access7 Jul 2021 Nature Communications
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  Semiconductor core fibres: materials science in a bottle

  The application space for optical fibers is growing, enabled by fibers built using special materials and processes. In this Review, the authors discuss the materials science behind producing crystalline core fibers for diverse applications and progress in the field.

  • Ursula J. Gibson
  • Lei Wei
  • John Ballato

  Review ArticleOpen Access28 Jun 2021 Nature Communications
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  Optical force mapping at the single-nanometre scale

  Direct visualisation of 3D vector distributions of photoinduced fields can shed light on the optical and mechanical behaviour of different materials. Here, the authors demonstrate such visualisation using photoinduced force microscopy by observing the optical gradient force at the nanometer scale.

  • Junsuke Yamanishi
  • Hidemasa Yamane
  • Yasuhiro Sugawara

  ArticleOpen Access23 Jun 2021 Nature Communications
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  Remote whispering metamaterial for non-radiative transceiving of ultra-weak sound

  Typically, sending sound from transmitter to receiver requires pre-amplification and disturbs the surrounding sound environment. Here, the authors present a metamaterial designed to enable transmission of weak sound that can be recovered even in the presence of strong noise

  • Jin Zhang
  • Wei Rui
  • Johan Christensen

  ArticleOpen Access16 Jun 2021 Nature Communications
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  3D printable diffractive optical elements by liquid immersion

  Diffractive optical elements are broadly used due to their ability to reshape the wavefront efficiently and conveniently. By using liquid immersion, the authors here enable microscale 3D-printed optics to behave like nanoscopic structures while maintaining high performance.

  • Reut Orange-Kedem
  • Elias Nehme
  • Yoav Shechtman

  ArticleOpen Access24 May 2021 Nature Communications
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  Scalable photonic-based nulling interferometry with the dispersed multi-baseline GLINT instrument

  Nulling interferometry is a technique combining lights from different telescopes or apertures to observe weak sources nearby bright ones. The authors report the first nulling interferometer implemented in a photonic chip doing spectrally dispersed nulling on several baselines, simultaneously.

  • Marc-Antoine Martinod
  • Barnaby Norris
  • Sergio Leon-Saval

  ArticleOpen Access29 Apr 2021 Nature Communications
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  Arbitrary linear transformations for photons in the frequency synthetic dimension

  Photonic processors that can perform arbitrary tasks are in demand for many applications. Here, the authors present a photonic architecture using waveguide and resonator couplings to perform arbitrary linear transformations, by taking advantage of the frequency synthetic dimension.

  • Siddharth Buddhiraju
  • Avik Dutt
  • Shanhui Fan

  ArticleOpen Access23 Apr 2021 Nature Communications
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  Full recovery of ultrafast waveforms lost under noise

  Extracting weak, ultrafast single-shot waveforms from a noisy background has critical uses in many applications. Here, the authors present a method to enhance signals and recover arbitrary waveforms from very noisy backgrounds by manipulating the physical waveform spectra in real time.

  • Benjamin Crockett
  • Luis Romero Cortés
  • José Azaña

  ArticleOpen Access23 Apr 2021 Nature Communications
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  Ultrafast light field tomography for snapshot transient and non-line-of-sight imaging

  Speed and 3D capability are often incompatible for non-line-of-sight imaging. Here, the authors introduce ultrafast light field tomography (LIFT) that uses an efficient light field acquisition technique to obtain 3D and time.

  • Xiaohua Feng
  • Liang Gao

  ArticleOpen Access12 Apr 2021 Nature Communications
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  Compensation-free high-dimensional free-space optical communication using turbulence-resilient vector beams

  Resistance to turbulence is an ongoing challenge for point-to-point freespace communications. Here the authors present a protocol for encoding a large amount of information in vector beams that are transmittable through a moderately strong turbulent channel without adaptive beam compensation.

  • Ziyi Zhu
  • Molly Janasik
  • Zhimin Shi

  ArticleOpen Access12 Mar 2021 Nature Communications
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  Giant nonlinear optical activity in two-dimensional palladium diselenide

  Strong nonlinearities in 2D materials can lead to interesting applications in optoelectronics. Here the authors investigate the optical nonlinearity of palladium diselenide, determine the layer dependent two photon absorption efficiency and the saturable absorption modulation depth.

  • Juan Yu
  • Xiaofei Kuang
  • Yanping Liu

  ArticleOpen Access17 Feb 2021 Nature Communications