Optical techniques articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The current standard for breast cancer diagnostic is a mammogram; however, the sensitivity of mammography can be low in radiographically dense breasts. Here the authors develop a single-breath-hold photoacoustic computed tomography (SBH-PACT) system to reveal detailed angiographic structures in human breasts allowing the detection of higher blood vessel densities associated with tumors.

    • Li Lin
    • , Peng Hu
    •  & Lihong V. Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Advanced photonic probes are important for the development of non-contact wafer-scale testing of photonic chips. Here, Vynck et al. develop a quantitative technique based on mapping of transmittance variations by ultrafast perturbations to analyze arbitrary linear multi-port photonic devices.

    • Kevin Vynck
    • , Nicholas J. Dinsdale
    •  & Otto L. Muskens

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical tweezers, while well suited for micro-manipulation, are difficult to apply to volumetric microrheology. Here, Leartprapun et al. combine low-NA optical radiation-pressure forces with sensitive interferometric detection to enable volumetric microrheology with promising applications in biological systems.

    • Nichaluk Leartprapun
    • , Rishyashring R. Iyer
    •  & Steven G. Adie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Contradictory models are being debated on the dominant pathways of charge generation in organic solar cells. Here Kurpiers et al. determine the activation energy for this fundamental process and reveal that the main channel is via thermalized charge transfer states instead of hot exciton dissociation.

    • Jona Kurpiers
    • , Thomas Ferron
    •  & Dieter Neher

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The electron–phonon coupling is the key to understand optoelectronic properties in lead halide perovskites but it is difficult to probe. Here Batignani et al. observe two new phonon modes with impulsive vibrational spectroscopy providing the evidence of the polaronic nature of the photo-excitation.

    • Giovanni Batignani
    • , Giuseppe Fumero
    •  & Tullio Scopigno

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) allows for high resolution imaging without lenses. Here, Lo et al. develop in situ CDI with real-time imaging and a corresponding low-dose requirement, with expected applications in the physical and life sciences.

    • Yuan Hung Lo
    • , Lingrong Zhao
    •  & Jianwei Miao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Characterization of adsorbed molecular layers on surfaces is the key to wide-ranging applications, but elucidating the structure and composition of such adlayers remains challenging. Here the authors develop an approach to unveil the nanoscale structure and composition of adlayers through spectrally resolved super-resolution microscopy.

    • Limin Xiang
    • , Michal Wojcik
    •  & Ke Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dual-comb spectroscopy has become a valuable tool for broadband high-resolution measurements. Here Bergevin et al. apply this technique to a laser-induced plasma detecting different species in a solid sample with a spectral resolution sufficient to resolve hyperfine splitting of the Rb D2 line.

    • Jenna Bergevin
    • , Tsung-Han Wu
    •  & R. Jason Jones

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photoionization of atoms and molecules is a complex process and requires sensitive probes to explore the ultrafast dynamics. Here the authors combine transient absorption and photo-ion spectroscopy methods to explore and control the attosecond pulse initiated excitation, ionization and Auger decay in Kr atoms.

    • Konrad Hütten
    • , Michael Mittermair
    •  & Birgitta Bernhardt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bundles of single-wall carbon nanotubes with enriched chirality can be used as model systems for exploring exciton physics in low-dimensional nanostructures. Here, the authors use resonant Raman spectroscopy to probe intertube interactions in bundles of (6,5)-enriched carbon nanotubes, and observe a Fano resonance arising from coupling between intertube and intratube excitons.

    • Jeffrey R. Simpson
    • , Oleksiy Roslyak
    •  & Stephen K. Doorn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fano lineshapes are found in many photonic systems where discrete and extended spectra interfere. Here, the authors extend this description and introduce generalized Fano lineshapes to describe the results from hyperspectral mapping around an exceptional point in a coupled-cavity system.

    • Niccolò Caselli
    • , Francesca Intonti
    •  & Massimo Gurioli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantitatively studying components of the presynapse requires high resolution optical methods. Here the authors use confocal microscopy as well as 2D- and 3D-STED nanoscopy to quantify the number and activity of active zone Ca2+ channels in inner hair cells.

    • Jakob Neef
    • , Nicolai T. Urban
    •  & Tobias Moser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Free electron laser beam profile characterization is usually performed separately from the actual measurements and this leads to considerable uncertainty in the results. Here the authors demonstrate the simultaneous measurement of the FEL beam profile with the experiment by using integrated gratings.

    • Michael Schneider
    • , Christian M. Günther
    •  & Stefan Eisebitt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising technology for sensitive optical sensors, generally using rough metal films. Here, Liu et al. synthesize high-quality graphene quantum dot films which offer a large SERS enhancement due to a strong light-matter interaction with Van Hove singularities.

    • Donghua Liu
    • , Xiaosong Chen
    •  & Dacheng Wei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Light-sheet single-molecule 3D super-resolution microscopes can’t image close to a coverslip or may require complex apparatus. Here the authors overcome such limitations using a tilted light sheet strategy with long axial range point spread functions on a standard inverted microscope.

    • Anna-Karin Gustavsson
    • , Petar N. Petrov
    •  & W. E. Moerner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical imaging deep in biological tissue is difficult due to multiple scattering and specimen induced aberrations of both the incident and reflected light. Here, Kang et al. develop an adaptive closed-loop algorithm to correct tissue aberrations in the presence of multiple scattering for deep tissue imaging.

    • Sungsam Kang
    • , Pilsung Kang
    •  & Wonshik Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spectral reflectance has been used to achieve label-free, in vivo imaging of myelin, a membranous sheath that allows faster electrical conduction along neuronal axons. Here the authors extend this technique to measure nanoscale features, including changes following traumatic brain injury.

    • Junhwan Kwon
    • , Moonseok Kim
    •  & Myunghwan Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanomechanical sensors that rely on intrinsic resonance frequencies usually present a tradeoff between sensitivity and bandwidth. In this work, the authors realise an optically driven nanorotor featuring high frequency stability and tunability over a large frequency range.

    • Stefan Kuhn
    • , Benjamin A. Stickler
    •  & James Millen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Upconversion nanoparticles, which do not suffer from the photophysical artifacts that limit fluorescent molecules, offer an exciting opportunity for biological super-resolution imaging. Here, Zhan et al. develop an efficient STED mechanism using optimized lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles, enabling cytoskeleton nanoscopic imaging.

    • Qiuqiang Zhan
    • , Haichun Liu
    •  & Sailing He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spectroscopic ellipsometry is an established technique to characterize the optical properties of a material. Here, Minamikawa et al. combine the method with dual-comb spectroscopy, which allows them to obtain ellipsometric parameters including the phase difference between s-polarized and p-polarized light.

    • Takeo Minamikawa
    • , Yi-Da Hsieh
    •  & Takeshi Yasui

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studies on energy-dependent scattering of ultracold atoms were previously carried out near zero collision energies. Here, the authors observe a magnetic Feshbach resonance in ultracold Rb collisions for above-threshold energies and their method can also be used to detect higher partial wave resonances.

    • Milena S. J. Horvath
    • , Ryan Thomas
    •  & Niels Kjærgaard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Challenges in biological imaging include labeling, photobleaching and phototoxicity, as well as light scattering. Here, Nguyen et al. develop a quantitative phase method that uses low-coherence interferometry for label-free 3D imaging in scattering tissue.

    • Tan H. Nguyen
    • , Mikhail E. Kandel
    •  & Gabriel Popescu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides host excitons and trions, however higher-order states, although possible, are difficult to identify experimentally. Here, the authors perform polarization-resolved coherent spectroscopy to unveil the signature of neutral and charged inter-valley biexcitons in monolayer MoSe2.

    • Kai Hao
    • , Judith F. Specht
    •  & Galan Moody

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical coherence tomography, a technique that can image inside tissue, is susceptible to speckle noise that limits its diagnostic potential. Here, Libaet al. show that speckle noise can be removed without effectively compromising resolution, revealing previously hidden small structures within tissue.

    • Orly Liba
    • , Matthew D. Lew
    •  & Adam de la Zerda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides can be grown on large scale using chemical vapour deposition which, however, determines presence of grain boundaries. Here, the authors report that third-harmonic generation imaging provides excellent sensitivity and fast speed for grain boundary visualization in MoS2.

    • Lasse Karvonen
    • , Antti Säynätjoki
    •  & Zhipei Sun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The complex speckle pattern produced by coherent multiple scattering contains information about the incident light field, which has recently been used for imaging. Metzgeret al. use speckle to construct a wavemeter with sub-femtometre resolution which is subsequently used for laser stabilization.

    • Nikolaus Klaus Metzger
    • , Roman Spesyvtsev
    •  & Kishan Dholakia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Holograms generally need to be as thick as a wavelength of light to introduce the necessary optical phase shifts that create true three-dimensional images. Here, Yueet al. use a high-index topological insulator material to create a resonant optical cavity and thin holograms to the nanometre scale.

    • Zengji Yue
    • , Gaolei Xue
    •  & Min Gu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The electrodynamics of topological insulators has been predicted to show a new magnetoelectric term, but this hasn’t been observed. Here, Dziomet al. observe a universal Faraday rotation angle equal to the fine structure constant, evidencing the so-called topological magnetoelectric effect.

    • V. Dziom
    • , A. Shuvaev
    •  & L. W. Molenkamp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent advances have enabled high-speed three-dimensional optical imaging through the use of fluorescent markers. Here, Chenet al. integrate stimulated Raman imaging into those methods, enabling the label-free and chemically specific volumetric imaging of complex samples.

    • Xueli Chen
    • , Chi Zhang
    •  & Ji-Xin Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kimet al. report a polymeric-based electroluminescent interactive display that actively detects and visualizes an external conductive object under an alternating current. Fingerprint visualization and dynamic monitoring of metallic liquid flow are demonstrated.

    • Eui Hyuk Kim
    • , Sung Hwan Cho
    •  & Cheolmin Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    X-ray optics are notoriously challenging to fabricate due to the strict tolerances that result from the short wavelength of radiation. Here, Seibothet al. carefully quantify aberrations in complex X-ray lenses and correct them with an easy-to-fabricate broadband phase plate.

    • Frank Seiboth
    • , Andreas Schropp
    •  & Christian G. Schroer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fanget al. develop a method to determine the photon recycling efficiency for organic-inorganic hybrid single crystal perovskites by differentiating between emitted and re-absorbed photons based on their polarization difference. For these systems efficiencies of less than 0.5% are reported.

    • Yanjun Fang
    • , Haotong Wei
    •  & Jinsong Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here Zhaoet al. use twisted metamaterials to drastically enhance chiral responses through strong near-field interactions, and sense the chirality down to zeptomoles of molecules, orders of magnitude smaller than what is detectable with conventional circular dichroism spectroscopy.

    • Yang Zhao
    • , Amir N. Askarpour
    •  & Andrea Alù

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photonic lanterns are made by merging several single-mode cores into one multimode core. Here, the authors show this type of structure can both perform wavelength-to-time mapping of multimode states of light and couple such light to an array of single-photon avalanche detectors.

    • Harikumar K Chandrasekharan
    • , Frauke Izdebski
    •  & Robert R. Thomson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Aligning the resonances of sets of optical cavities is necessary for advanced photonics and sensing applications. Here, the authors introduce resonant photoelectrochemical etching as a method to collectively and permanently tune the resonant wavelengths of ensembles of resonators on a photonic chip.

    • Eduardo Gil-Santos
    • , Christopher Baker
    •  & Ivan Favero

  • Article
    | Open Access

    On-site diagnostics technologies allow for rapid, cost-effective diagnosis with a particular importance for remote communities. Here the authors demonstrate the use of mobile phone based microscopy for targeted DNA sequencing andin situpoint mutation detection in tumours.

    • Malte Kühnemund
    • , Qingshan Wei
    •  & Mats Nilsson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The near-field interaction of single emitters and plasmonic structures can alter the perceived physical location of the emitter. Here, Raabet al. use DNA origami and far-field super-resolution microscopy to quantitatively evaluate this localization offset for gold nanoparticles.

    • Mario Raab
    • , Carolin Vietz
    •  & Philip Tinnefeld

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Light-matter interactions with single quantum emitters are generally difficult to measure with both high-resolution and a large field of view. Here, Johlin et al. develop far-field super-resolution fluorescence methods to map near-field emitter-nanostructure interactions over several microns.

    • Eric Johlin
    • , Jacopo Solari
    •  & Erik C. Garnett

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