Applied optics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    Lenses are well-understood optical instruments to focus light. The flame lens realized here by Michaelis et al. offers light focusing with a damage threshold several orders of magnitude higher than that of most conventional lenses.

    • Max M. Michaelis
    • , Cosmas Mafusire
    •  & Andrew Forbes

  • Article |

    Graphene holds great potential for use in photodetectors, owing to its ability to absorb light over a wide range of wavelengths. Here Zhang et al. report a large photoresponsivity of 8.6 AW-1 over a broad wavelength range in pure monolayer graphene.

    • By Yongzhe Zhang
    • , Tao Liu
    •  & Qi Jie Wang

  • Article |

    Exciton-polaritons—coupled states of excitons and photons—exhibit interesting properties that may make them suitable as information carriers for optical computing technologies. With this goal in mind, Ballarini et al. demonstrate an all-optical polariton transistor that also operates as a logic gate.

    • D. Ballarini
    • , M. De Giorgi
    •  & D. Sanvitto

  • Article |

    Solitons are waves, occurring in systems such as water channels and optical fibres that preserve their shape as they travel. Here the observation of solitons in multimode optical fibres offers a platform for studying spatiotemporal wave packets, and could allow high peak power transmission along with increased data rates in low-cost telecommunications.

    • W. H. Renninger
    •  & F. W. Wise

  • Article |

    The control of thermal radiation is important for applications such as energy conversion and radiative cooling. Here Fan et al. demonstrate a thermal extraction scheme that can enhance the emission of a finite-sized blackbody-like emitter.

    • Zongfu Yu
    • , Nicholas P. Sergeant
    •  & Shanhui Fan

  • Article |

    Free-electron lasers offer exciting new possibilities for X-ray studies on ultrafast timescales, but their shot-to-shot variability requires new diagnostic tools. Using a plasma switch cross-correlator, Riedel et al. present a single-shot online diagnostic to retrieve the duration of extreme ultraviolet pulses.

    • R. Riedel
    • , A. Al-Shemmary
    •  & F. Tavella

  • Article |

    Ptychographic methods can retrieve the complex sample transmittance from diffraction patterns that may have a large dynamic range. For soft X-ray spectromicroscopy, Maiden et al. use a diffuser to randomize the probe phase, reducing the dynamic range of the diffraction data by an order of magnitude.

    • A.M. Maiden
    • , G.R. Morrison
    •  & J.M. Rodenburg

  • Article |

    The strong electro-optical response of BaTiO3 could be useful for making high-speed switches for optical telecommunications. Abel et al. demonstrate the ability to maintain this response in BaTiO3films grown directly onto silicon, extending its potential to the development of silicon photonics.

    • Stefan Abel
    • , Thilo Stöferle
    •  & Jean Fompeyrine

  • Article |

    Plasmons excited in gratings create strong resonant absorptions that depend on the nanostructure period. By patterning a gold grating on a silicon substrate, Sobhani et al. exploit plasmon-induced hot electron photocurrent generation to create a narrowband infrared photodetector with greatly enhanced absorption efficiency.

    • Ali Sobhani
    • , Mark W. Knight
    •  & Naomi J. Halas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Faraday effect rotates the polarization plane of light in magneto-optical materials and is used for optical isolators blocking unwanted backscattering of light. Usually a small effect, Chin et al. have observed a large enhancement of the optical rotation by magneto-plasmonics.

    • Jessie Yao Chin
    • , Tobias Steinle
    •  & Harald Giessen

  • Article |

    By having the electrons and lattice at high temperature, photon-enhanced thermionic emission offers improved electron extraction energy in solar conversion devices. Schwede et al.use a heterostructure design to introduce an internal interface, showing higher quantum efficiencies than previous experiments.

    • J.W. Schwede
    • , T. Sarmiento
    •  & Z.-X. Shen

  • Article |

    Controlling the interaction between distant quantum dots is important if they are to be used in quantum information devices. Delbecq et al. place two quantum dot circuits in a microwave cavity and show that they interact via cavity photons, even though they are separated by 200 times their own size.

    • M.R. Delbecq
    • , L.E. Bruhat
    •  & T. Kontos

  • Article |

    For future optical information processing applications, including quantum computing, ever more complex quantum photonic devices are needed. Metcalf et al. present an integrated photonic device capable of three-photon quantum operation, including Hong-Ou-Mandel-type interference between three photons.

    • Benjamin J. Metcalf
    • , Nicholas Thomas-Peter
    •  & Ian A. Walmsley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical frequency combs are vital tools for precision measurements, and extending them further into the mid-infrared 'molecular fingerprint' range will open new avenues for spectroscopy. Using crystalline microresonators, Wang et al. demonstrate Kerr combs at 2.5 μm as a promising route into the mid-infrared.

    • C. Y. Wang
    • , T. Herr
    •  & T. J. Kippenberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms whose high electron mobility offers potential for cheap, high-speed opto-electronic devices. Docherty et al.show that the terahertz frequency photoconductivity in graphene depends crucially on the type and density of environmental gas adsorbed.

    • Callum J. Docherty
    • , Cheng-Te Lin
    •  & Michael B. Johnston

  • Article |

    Integrated photonic devices rely on single-mode waveguides, as inter-mode coupling prevents multimode waveguides from being efficiently bent for on-chip schemes. Using transformation optics, Gabrielliet al. overcome this limitation and show a multimode waveguide bend with minimal inter-mode coupling.

    • Lucas H. Gabrielli
    • , David Liu
    •  & Michal Lipson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Control of spin statistics by spin injection from ferromagnetic electrodes has been shown to achieve only weak effects in organic optoelectronic devices. Wang et al.use instead polarization of spins after injection, at high magnetic fields and low temperatures, achieving a 50% change in device characteristics.

    • Jianpu Wang
    • , Alexei Chepelianskii
    •  & Neil C. Greenham

  • Article |

    Solution-processed organic semiconductor devices present a low-cost alternative to their silicon counterparts, yet their performance is usually not as strong. By replacing silicon with an organic photoactive layer, Baierlet al. present a solution-processed hybrid CMOS-imager with a 100% pixel fill factor.

    • Daniela Baierl
    • , Lucio Pancheri
    •  & Paolo Lugli

  • Article |

    The flexibility of microwave photonics provides advantages over electronic circuitry, yet the lack of integrated chip-scale devices limits its practical application. This study presents microwave filters based on photonic crystal waveguides with controllable delays as a step towards intregable circuits.

    • Juan Sancho
    • , Jerome Bourderionnet
    •  & Alfredo De Rossi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fibre-based technologies provide miniaturization, flexibility and the capability to access hard to reach areas. Čižmár and Dholakia exploit disorder in multimode fibres to enable a variety of imaging modalities, including bright- and dark-field microscopy and fluorescent imaging, using a single waveguide.

    • Tomáš Čižmár
    •  & Kishan Dholakia

  • Article |

    Singlet fission converts single singlet excitons into pairs of triplet excitons, and it has been proposed to give additional photocurrent to solar cells. Ehrleret al. use lead selenide nanocrystals of varying sizes to measure the triplet energy in pentacene photovoltaic cells, and achieve efficiencies approaching 5%.

    • Bruno Ehrler
    • , Brian J. Walker
    •  & Neil C. Greenham

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fluorescence imaging is important for biomedical research and applications, but the turbidity of biological material prohibits deep tissue study. By combining ultrasound-encoding with digital time-reversal, Wanget al.perform focussed fluorescence imaging at a tissue depth of 2.5mm.

    • Ying Min Wang
    • , Benjamin Judkewitz
    •  & Changhuei Yang

  • Article |

    Three-dimensional optical metamaterials provide a range of exciting features, such as broadband circular dichroism, yet their fabrication is challenging. Here, a broadband optical circular polarizer is presented based on twisted stacks of metasurfaces, avoiding the issues of three-dimensional fabrication.

    • Y. Zhao
    • , M.A. Belkin
    •  & A. Alù

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fibre-optic waveguides are used to provide timing delays for different sensing and signal processing applications, but their transfer to on-chip platforms is a challenge. Here low-loss delay lines based on whispering-gallery spiral waveguides up to 27 m long are produced, presenting a scalable alternative.

    • Hansuek Lee
    • , Tong Chen
    •  & Kerry J. Vahala

  • Article |

    An important goal in optics is to image objects hidden by turbid media, although line-of-sight techniques fail when the obscuring medium becomes opaque. Veltenet al. use ultrafast imaging techniques to recover three-dimensional shapes of non-line-of-sight objects after reflection from diffuse surfaces.

    • Andreas Velten
    • , Thomas Willwacher
    •  & Ramesh Raskar

  • Article |

    Optical vortex traps are appealing for handling delicate particles, but conventional techniques are challenging with objects smaller than the diffraction limit of light. By exploiting plasmonic resonances in gold diabolo nanoantennas, Kanget al. demonstrate low-power vortex trapping of nano-scale objects.

    • Ju-Hyung Kang
    • , Kipom Kim
    •  & Hong-Gyu Park

  • Article |

    Nanomechanical resonators are attractive as ultra-low concentration sensors of biomolecules, as their small scale allows for sensitive mass detection. Here, using a nanowire array as part of a photonic crystal, such a device is presented for light trapping, absorption and low-concentration sensing.

    • Yuerui Lu
    • , Songming Peng
    •  & Amit Lal

  • Article |

    The night sky viewed from Earth is very bright at infrared wavelengths due to atmospheric emission, making land-based astronomy difficult in this spectral region. Here, a photonic filter is demonstrated to suppress this unwanted light, opening new paths to infrared astronomy with current and future telescopes.

    • J. Bland-Hawthorn
    • , S.C. Ellis
    •  & C. Trinh

  • Article |

    Among the wide range of potential applications of graphene, photodetection is believed to be among the most promising. By combining graphene with plasmonic nanostructures, Duan and colleagues observe dramatic improvements in the efficiency and spectral sensitivity of graphene-based photodetectors.

    • Yuan Liu
    • , Rui Cheng
    •  & Xiangfeng Duan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    As quantum information processing continues to develop apace, the need for integrated photonic devices becomes ever greater for both fundamental measurements and technological applications. To this end, Crespiet al.demonstrate a high-fidelity photonic controlled-NOT gate on a glass chip.

    • Andrea Crespi
    • , Roberta Ramponi
    •  & Paolo Mataloni

  • Article |

    The miniaturization of optical devices is crucial for their on-chip integration with a variety of technological applications. Here, Liuet al. present an ultracompact beam splitter to control the direction of light through the generation of surface plasmon polaritons.

    • John S.Q. Liu
    • , Ragip A. Pala
    •  & Mark L. Brongersma

  • Article |

    Quasi-three-dimensional plasmonic crystals have potential uses in miniaturized photonics. In this study, a method is described to enhance plasmonic resonance in the crystals by coupling them to optical modes of Fabry–Perot type cavities, with possible applications in photonic and sensor components.

    • Debashis Chanda
    • , Kazuki Shigeta
    •  & John A. Rogers

  • Article |

    Plasmonic nanostructures can be used to manipulate objects larger than the wavelength of light but create thermal heating. In this work, the trapping and controlled rotation of nanoparticles is demonstrated using a plasmonic nanotweezer with a heat sink, predicting a reduction in heating compared with previous designs.

    • Kai Wang
    • , Ethan Schonbrun
    •  & Kenneth B. Crozier

  • Article |

    Photodetection is believed to be among the most promising potential applications for graphene. Here, by combining graphene with plasmonic nanostructures, the efficiency of graphene-based photodetectors is increased by up to two orders of magnitude.

    • T.J. Echtermeyer
    • , L. Britnell
    •  & K.S. Novoselov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Various methods have been investigated to locally control atmospheric precipitation. In this study, field experiments show that laser-induced condensation is initiated when the relative humidity exceeds 70%, and that this effect is largely a result of photochemical HNO3formation.

    • S. Henin
    • , Y. Petit
    •  & J.-P. Wolf

  • Article |

    The development of practical photonic quantum technologies will be aided by the spatial control of entangled photons. Lenget al. achieve on-chip spatial control of entangled photons by using domain engineering, rather than by using external optical elements.

    • H.Y. Leng
    • , X.Q. Yu
    •  & S.N. Zhu

  • Article |

    Brillouin interactions between sound and light can excite mechanical resonances in photonic microsystems, with potential for sensing and frequency reference applications. The authors demonstrate experimental excitation of mechanical resonances ranging from 49 to 1,400 MHz using forward Brillouin scattering.

    • Gaurav Bahl
    • , John Zehnpfennig
    •  & Tal Carmon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical computing, involving on-chip integrated logic units, could provide improved performance over semiconductor-based computing. Here, a binary NOR gate is developed from cascaded OR and NOT gates in four-terminal plasmonic nanowire networks; the work could lead to new optical computing technologies.

    • Hong Wei
    • , Zhuoxian Wang
    •  & Hongxing Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-qubit operation is an essential part of quantum computation, but implementation has been difficult. Gotoet al.introduce optically controllable internuclear coupling in semiconductors providing a simple way of switching inter-qubit couplings in semiconductor-based quantum computers.

    • Atsushi Goto
    • , Shinobu Ohki
    •  & Tadashi Shimizu

  • Article |

    Waveplates are used in optoelectronics to alter the polarization of light, but they do not typically perform achromatically, which is important for applications such as three-dimensional displays. Here, biologically inspired periodically multilayered structures are produced, which function as achromatic visible-light waveplates.

    • Yi-Jun Jen
    • , Akhlesh Lakhtakia
    •  & Jyun-Rong Lai

  • Article |

    Metal-based nanostructures offer a solution to scale down photonics to the nanoscale. Sorgeret al. directly demonstrate waveguiding of ultra-small propagating waves at visible and near-infrared frequencies using NSOM imaging, with the potential for nanoscale photonic applications such as bio-sensing.

    • Volker J. Sorger
    • , Ziliang Ye
    •  & Xiang Zhang

  • Article |

    Nanometallic optical antennas can concentrate light into a deep-subwavelength volume for sensor and photovoltaic applications. Junet al. demonstrate an optical antenna design that achieves a high level of control over fluorescent emission for a wide range of nanoscale optical spectroscopy applications.

    • Young Chul Jun
    • , Kevin C.Y. Huang
    •  & Mark L. Brongersma

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