Superconducting electro-optic modulators for a cryogenic-to-room-temperature link are demonstrated. The record-low half-wave voltage of 42 mV is achieved on a 1-m-long modulator. By matching the velocity of microwave and optical signals, a 0.2-m-long modulator can achieve a 3 dB bandwidth of over 17 GHz.

Photonic crystal microring resonators with a periodic corrugation inscribed along the resonator’s circumference allow programmable synthetic reflection for self-injection-locked microcombs and their operation exclusively in the single-soliton regime.

By combining engineered dispersion and chirped quasi-phase matching in multisegment nanophotonic thin-film lithium niobate waveguides, the generation of gap-free frequency comb spanning from 330 to 2,400 nm can be realized with only 90 pJ of pulse energy at 1,550 nm.

Using programmable integrated photonics to generate a higher-order free-space structured light beam promises lossless and reconfigurable control of the spatial distribution of light’s amplitude and phase with very short switching times.

Researchers overcome the typical scintillator trade-off between high efficiency and speed. In organic scintillators, researchers drove hot excitons into fast singlet emission states without involving the lowest triplet states, which led to a fast radiative lifetime and strong light yield that may be applicable to ultrafast detection and imaging.

Luminescence solar concentrators are improved by using a laminated structure that creates a practically non-decaying optical ‘guard rail’ for light. Design rules enabled external quantum efficiencies as high as 45% for 450 nm light, yielding a device efficiency of 7.6%, probably useful for energy-harvesting windows.

Nature Photonics spoke with Rüdiger Paschotta, the founder of RP Photonics, about his online encyclopedia of photonics, the motivation behind it and future plans for the project.

Photonic processors are promising candidates for solving tough mathematical problems. Nature Photonics asked Yoshihisa Yamamoto, director of the Physics and Informatics Laboratories at NTT Research in USA, about the progress that is being made in realizing coherent Ising machines (CIMs).

Vladimir Zakharov was a man of a strong passion and grand intellect, who was equally and deservedly proud of both his scientific achievements and his poetry.

We posit that inconsistent interpretations of experimental data have led to inaccurate claims on metalens focusing efficiencies. By performing a meta-analysis, we show that extraordinary claims of high focusing efficiency at high numerical apertures are, unfortunately, not yet backed by rigorous simulation or experimental results.

The 2023 Nobel prizes in physics and chemistry have been awarded to important discoveries and developments in photonics-related research.

Allen Weeks, Director General of the Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium, talks to Nature Photonics about the founding and future of the high-power-laser facilities, and stimulating a resurgence of physics in new EU member countries.