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A nanoaperture tweezer excited by two lasers with slightly different wavelengths is used to trap nanoscopic particles. The beating field that is created allows low-frequency Raman spectra at the single particle level to be measured.
Using a spectroscopy streaking technique at LCLS (Linac Coherent Light Source), researchers demonstrate temporal characterization of X-ray pulses with sub-femtosecond resolution.
The development of practical blue LEDs required great perseverance by several Japanese scientists who had to learn how to fabricate high-quality films of GaN and effectively dope them to create light-emitting p–n junctions.
The award of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry to the pioneers of various optical schemes capable of achieving super-resolution and single-molecule detection is recognition of a revolution in optical imaging.
The ability to store arbitrary polarization states of light in an antiferromagnetic material (YMnO3) potentially adds a new degree of freedom to data storage applications.
A quantum receiver based on photon-number-resolving detection and adaptive feedback is demonstrated. It can discriminate quadrature-phase-shift-keying coherent signals with error below the standard quantum limit.
70,000 diffraction patterns captured over twelve minutes at the Linac Coherent Light Source yield reconstructions of the smallest single biological objects imaged with an X-ray laser.
An all-optical modulation technique based on a pump–probe scheme for temporally, spectrally and spatially characterizing the flow of light in a variety of silicon photonic devices is demonstrated.
Tuning the bandgap of multiferroic solar cells made from Bi2FeCrO6 is achieved by cationic ordering and is shown to dramatically improve their performance.
Combining the principles of time reversal and adaptive control with a spatial light modulator makes it possible to focus light onto moving objects hidden within a scattering medium. The approach could prove useful for medical applications.