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The experimental observation of bright dissipative polariton solitons in a semiconductor microcavity excited on picosecond timescales paves the way for ultranarrow light–matter localization and next-generation ultrafast information processing.
Quantum physics offers a way to enhance the amount of information a photon can carry, with potential applications in optical communication, lithography, metrology and imaging.
Scientists have demonstrated strongly coupled photon states between two distant high-Q photonic crystal cavities connected by a photonic crystal waveguide. Remote dynamic control over the coupled states could aid the development of delay lines, optical buffers and qubit operations in both classical and quantum information processing.
Picosecond acoustic pulses can be used to shift the optical transition energy of a quantum dot towards the resonance frequency of a microcavity, thus temporarily causing the device to lase. This ultrafast modulation technique has significant potential for exploring phenomena throughout quantum physics.
Telecommunications component manufacturers across the globe have been affected by the recent flooding in Thailand, which has caused manufacturing facilities near Bangkok to shut down.
The demonstration that quantum information can be stored in a bulk-diamond crystal in the form of an optically excited phonon gives researchers a new type of mechanical solid-state quantum memory to explore.
Researchers have developed flexible thin-film OLEDs that exhibit high efficiencies at green wavelengths without the use of a high-refractive-index substrate.
The ability to fabricate an array of GaN light emitters on an amorphous glass substrate could lead to significant improvements in the scalability and cost of blue and white LED technology.
The detection of ultralow concentrations of molecules using nanoscale optical sensors is hindered by the difficulty in bringing the two into contact, where diffusion acts on impractical timescales. Fortunately, introducing plasmonic structures to super-hydrophobic surfaces may offer a way around this problem.
Although constructing a perfect invisibility cloak is beyond our present capabilities, the more modest goal of achieving deception now seems to be a realistic alternative.
By combining the benefits of multidimensional spectroscopy with photoemission electron microscopy, scientists in Germany have successfully mapped the coherence lifetimes of plasmons in silver with nanoscale spatial resolution and femtosecond temporal resolution.
Could holes in semiconductor quantum dots be a more appealing alternative to electrons for realizing stable and scalable solid-state spin qubits for quantum information processing? The latest findings detailing two coupled dots and improved coherence times suggest that the answer may be yes.
The use of a custom-shaped hollow metallic cone can dramatically improve the efficiency of converting infrared to extreme-ultraviolet light, bringing the prospect of a compact laser-like source for next-generation lithography and imaging in the biological 'water window' a step closer to reality.
It has long been known that light can be slowed and stopped in an atomic medium using electromagnetically induced transparency. Researchers have now shown how an optical resonator can help a single photon induce its own transparency, which could have exciting applications in quantum information science.
