Reviews & Analysis

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  • A high-intensity attosecond X-ray free-electron laser, meeting the demands of attosecond science for research on the sub-femtosecond-timescale quantum-mechanical motion of electrons in molecules and solids, is now available for attosecond pump–attosecond probe experiments in the soft X-ray region.

    • Heung-Sik Kang
    • In Soo Ko
    News & Views
  • Time-of-flight 3D imaging is an invaluable remote sensing tool, but raster speeds are currently limited by pulsed-laser scanning rates. By adapting techniques from ultrafast time-stretch imaging, a new LiDAR platform scans orders of magnitude faster than today’s commercial line-scanning pulsed-LiDAR systems.

    • Daniel J. Lum
    News & Views
  • The use of amplitude-squeezed states of light as a probe is shown to yield superior measurements of the motion of a moving mirror at low frequencies. The demonstration offers a path to improving the sensitivity of gravitational-wave detectors.

    • Thomas Purdy
    News & Views
  • The realization of ultrafast integrated opto-optical switches with ultra-low switching energies remains an ongoing challenge. Broadband, silicon-compatible devices relying on gap plasmons and saturable absorption in graphene could pave the way forward.

    • Viktoriia Rutckaia
    • Joerg Schilling
    News & Views
  • Using graphene as the ‘metal’ layer improves the localization accuracy of metal-induced energy transfer by nearly tenfold.

    • Margarida M. Barroso
    News & Views
  • Measurements of the Hong–Ou–Mandel effect in a quantum system with PT-symmetric losses composed of coupled waveguides and single photons produce some counterintuitive results.

    • Eva-Maria Graefe
    News & Views
  • A wavelength-size laser cavity with a movable end mirror enables single-mode operation and 25% fractional tuning of a terahertz quantum cascade laser.

    • Nathan Jukam
    News & Views
  • While the ability to increase the light–matter interaction by depositing graphene inside the air holes of a long length of photonic crystal fibre is worth celebrating, cautious optimism is called for when we begin to discuss the industrialization of graphene-based fibre-optic components.

    • James Stone
    News & Views
  • A quantum-dot-based single-photon source with a polarized single-photon efficiency of 60% and an indistinguishability of 0.975 is demonstrated by introducing a small asymmetry in a photonic cavity structure.

    • Michael E. Reimer
    • Catherine Cher
    News & Views
  • A wide-field system that can perform video-rate imaging of the entire area of the brain of an awake mouse is aiding the study of neurones, epilepsy and the immune system.

    • Gail McConnell
    News & Views
  • This Review covers recent progress in integrated quantum photonics (IQP) technologies and their applications. The challenges and opportunities of realizing large-scale, monolithic IQP circuits for future quantum applications are discussed.

    • Jianwei Wang
    • Fabio Sciarrino
    • Mark G. Thompson
    Review Article
  • The occurrence of Bell non-locality, observations that cannot be explained in terms of local influences, is one of the most remarkable features of quantum theory. A new test of non-locality, tailored for quantum networks, has now been implemented in a network with two independent quantum sources.

    • Cyril Branciard
    News & Views
  • Higher-order topological states that are robust against certain classes of disorder and pinned to lattice corners are now observed in photonics platforms.

    • Şahin K. Özdemir
    • Ramy El-Ganainy
    News & Views
  • Front-induced transitions have been used in dispersion-engineered waveguides for frequency conversion, optical delays, and bandwidth and pulse duration manipulation. This Review provides a theoretical description of the subject and highlights the potential for light manipulation in guided optics.

    • Mahmoud A. Gaafar
    • Toshihiko Baba
    • Alexander Yu. Petrov
    Review Article
  • Dielectric antennas and metasurfaces open up new opportunities for future applications in advanced optoelectronics, light detection and ranging for autonomous vehicles, fluorescence-enhancing substrates for bioimaging and many more.

    • Rachel Won
    Meeting Report