Optics and photonics articles within Nature Communications

Fibre-based entanglement distribution represents a key primitive for quantum applications such as QKD. Here, the authors demonstrate it across 248 km of deployed fiber, observing stable detected pair rates of 9 Hz for 110 h.

Successfully controlling an optical signal by a single gate photon would have great applicability for quantum networks and all-optical computing. Here, the authors realise a single-photon transistor in the microwave regime based on superconducting quantum circuits.

Hemispherical photodetectors allow wide sight angle without the complex optical paths of fisheye lenses. Here, Wei et al, report a spray-coated quasi-two-dimensional perovskite hemispherical photodetector with wavelength selective response from the visible to the near-infrared.

Large-scale silicon-based integrated artificial neural networks lack of silicon-integrated optical neurons. Here, Yu et al, report a self-monitored all-optical neural network enabled by nonlinear germanium-silicon photodiodes, making the photonic neural network more versatile and compact.

Fiber-based micro-endoscopes are minimally invasive, but 3D imaging is limited by the need for bulky optical elements or rigid fibers. Here, the authors demonstrate holographic imaging through flexible and dynamically bent multi-core fibers by adding partially reflecting mirror to the distal fiber-tip.

Improving the image depth perception of holograms while maintaining high image quality is a current challenge. Here the authors propose an efficient solution relying on a multi-plane hologram technique that reconstruct different blurred images and sharply focused images depending on a propagation distance.

Synthetic lattice systems are powerful platforms for studying the influence of intrinsic nonlinearities on topological phenomena. Here the authors elucidate the topological transport of solitons in terms of Wannier functions displacement and they introduce a nonlinearity-induced topological transport effect that could be observed in ultracold quantum mixtures.

3D depth sensing with structured light enables simultaneous imaging of multiple objects, but has limited field of view and low efficiency. Here, the authors demonstrate 3D imaging with scattered light from a metasurface composed of periodic supercells, covering a 180° field of view with a high-density dot array.

The use of light in driving the magnetization of materials has great technological potential, as well as allowing for insights into the fast dynamics of magnetic systems. Here, the authors combine CrI₃, a van der Waals magnet, with WSe₂, and demonstrate all optical switching of the resulting heterostructure.

Known examples of negative refraction in metamaterials do not distinguish between positive and negative angles of incidence. Here, the authors show that it is possible to break this symmetry using an asymmetric unit cell, and demonstrate it using a mechanical metamaterial working at GHz frequencies.

Energy transfer between the electromagnetic field and atoms or molecules is fundamentally interesting. Here the authors demonstrate stepwise energy transfer between broadband mid-infrared optical pulses and vibrating methylsulfonylmethane molecules in aqueous solution.

Developing longwave infrared technology hide intrinsic challenges but at the same time is important to develop sensing and imaging for detection, ranging, and monitoring systems. Here the authors demonstrate the fabrication of high-quality microresonators in the LWIR with the simple use of native germanium.

Ising machines are accelerators for computing difficult optimization problems. In this work, Böhm et al. demonstrate a method that extends their use to perform statistical sampling and machine learning orders-of-magnitudes faster than digital computers.

This work experimentally demonstrates nano-electromechanically tunable asymmetric dielectric metasurfaces. The metasurfaces enable large phase tuning, high reflection, a wavelength-scale pixel size, and electrical control of diffraction patterns.

Fabrication of metasurfaces with nanoscale structures is inefficient for large areas. Here, the authors introduce patterned pulse laser lithography for creating structured arrays with sub-wavelength feature on large-area thin films under ambient conditions.

Fractal optical solitons were studied in theory while it is cumbersome their experimental realization in optics setups. Here, the authors find that breathing solitons in lasers constitute fractals―the devil’s staircases, which are around 3000 times more stable than classical ones.

Imaging though strongly scattering media is challenging and computationally intensive. Here, the authors show that tracking of moving objects can be achieved with minimal computational effort by combining cross-correlations of the measured speckle pattern at different times.

Here the authors demonstrate chip-scale high-peak-power lasers by vertical integration of semiconductor and solid state laser gain mediums to reach the same maturity level as existing semiconductor lasers, which are suitable for miniaturization and cost-effective mass production.

X-ray activated afterglow nanomaterials are desirable components for advanced optoelectronic applications. Here, the authors present pathways to modulate the stimulus-responsive color emissions in lanthanide-doped fluoride core-shell nanoparticles.

Mimicking human vision with metasurfaces, the authors propose a new paradigm for high field of view and ultrafast LiDAR, achieving performances also relevant for the next generation of imaging system for ADAS and robotic systems.

Understanding the coherent dynamics of electron and nucleus spins in hBN is crucial for their applications as qubits and quantum sensors. Here the authors report room-temperature coherent manipulation of the negatively charged boron vacancy spins in hBN and study their dynamics under weak and strong magnetic fields.

Sensitivity to noise is currently an obstacle to the use of quantum imaging techniques in real-world scenarios. Here, exploiting non-local cancellation of dispersion on time-frequency entangled photons, the authors show a 43dB improvement in resilience to noise for imaging protocols towards a quantum LiDAR.

The defocusing problem has been considered the main bottleneck for developing optoelectronic μ-compound eye (CE) cameras. Here, the authors report miniature optoelectronic CE cameras with an ommatidia logarithmic-profile. The camera enables large field-of-view imaging, spatial position identification, and sensitive trajectory monitoring of moving targets.

The authors present an approach to underwater imaging, which does not require tethering or batteries. The low-power camera uses power from harvested acoustic energy and communicates colour images wirelessly via acoustic backscatter.

The challenge of high-speed and high-accuracy coherent photonic neurons for deep learning applications lies to solve noise related issues. Here, Mourgias-Alexandris et al. address this problem by introducing a noise-resilient hardware architectural and a deep learning training platform.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are interesting for nanophotonic applications due to their high refractive index and excitonic properties. Here, the authors report a scalable bottom-up fabrication method to realize arrays of TMDC metastructures showing dielectric optical modes and self-coupled exciton-polaritons.

Low modulus materials that can change shape in response to external stimuli are promising for a wide range of applications. The authors here introduce a shape-reprogrammable construct, based on liquid metal microfluidic networks and electromagnetic actuation, that supports a unique collection of capabilities.

Synthetic frequency dimension from light modulation enables scalable optical computing. The authors show an efficient silicon-based acousto-optic modulator that generates large synthetic frequency lattices and performs matrix-vector multiplications.

6G communication requires high-speed and advanced functionalities on-chip. Here the authors demonstrate broadband phototunable topological waveguide and demultiplexing chip with record single-channel 160 Gbit/s communication link and excellent channel isolation for 300 GHz band.

Bose-Einstein condensate of excitons is expected in photo-excited bulk semiconductors, but a direct experimental evidence has been lacking. Here the authors report the observation of a condensate of 1s paraexcitons in Cu₂O using real-space mid-infrared absorption imaging realized in a dilution refrigerator.

Estimating the angular separation between two incoherent sources below the diffraction limit is challenging. Hypothesis testing and quantum state discrimination techniques are used to super-resolve sources of different brightness with a simple optical interferometer.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been used extensively to encapsulate other van der Waals materials, protecting them from environmental degradation, and allowing integration into more complex heterostructures. Here, the authors make use of boron vacancy spin defects in h-BN using them to image the magnetic properties of a Fe₃GeTe₂ flake.

Here, the authors realize an ultra-high fluence X-ray laser by high-gain multilayer focusing optics. This enables in-solution imaging with 2-nm resolution in a single-pulse exposure, making strides toward biomolecular imaging under physiological conditions.

On-Chip integration of laser systems led to impressive development in many field of application like LIDAR or AR/VR to cite a few. Here the authors harness Pockels effect in an integrated semiconductor platform achieving fast on-chip configurability of a narrow linewidth laser.

The spectrally narrow photoluminescence lines occurring in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) heterostructures at low temperature have been attributed to interlayer excitons (IXs) localized by the moiré potential between the TMD layers. Here, the authors show that these lines are present even when the moiré potential is suppressed by inserting an hBN spacer between the TMD layers.

The authors study a liquid crystal microcavity with polarization-dependent absorption, a source of non-Hermiticity. The transition in the Hermitian topology of the spin-orbit coupling makes possible the annihilation of exceptional points.

Studying microorganisms at high temperatures is challenging on conventional optical microscopes. Here, the authors introduce the concept of microscale laser heating over the full field of view by using gold nanoparticles as light absorbers, and study thermophile species up to 80 °C.

Optical binding enables light-induced assembly of many particles within a focus area. Here, the authors demonstrate that optical binding can occur outside the irradiated area by scattered light interacting with the particles outside the focus, generating arc-shape potential wells for particle trapping.

Dark-field X-ray imaging is sensitive to the microstructure of a material. Here, the authors combine this with a neural network algorithm to provide efficient material discrimination, e.g., of explosives vs non-threat materials.

A mechanically compliant and robust sensing material is essential for accurate and reliable thermal sensing. Here, the authors report the use of elastic organic crystals as fluorescence-based thermal sensors that cover a wide range of temperatures with complete retention of the sensor’s elasticity.

The authors introduce differentially enhanced compressed ultrafast photography, a phase imaging platform that combines high speed and sensitivity. They visualise propagation of passive current flows along myelinated axons, and electromagnetic pulses in lithium niobate.

The singlet fission mechanism is still not relatively well understood, except for polyacenes. Here, the authors demonstrate that in diketopyrrolopyrrole supramolecular assemblies, both singlet fission and intersystem crossing can simultaneously happen.

Laser probing of integrated circuits using sub-bandgap photon energies remains a challenge. Here, the authors propose a super-resolution method capable of achieving probe placement accuracy to better than 10 nm; extraction of electro-optic waveforms from a node of a group of transistors and applied this to isolate and identify a fault on a defective device.

Here, the authors demonstrate multipath twisting of acoustic waves with a thin metamaterial layer enabling high-speed transfer of information with no time-consuming post-processing or sensor scanning, showing important application potential in underwater communication.

High power efficiency and low roll-off values are essential to the commercialization of white organic light-emitting diodes. Here, the authors construct all-fluorescence devices with an orange emitting layer sandwiched between two sky-blue emitting layers, achieving figure-of-merit of 130.7 lm/W.

Cold-atom interferometers have been miniaturized towards fieldable quantum inertial sensing applications. Here the authors demonstrate a compact cold-atom interferometer using microfabricated gratings and discuss the possible use of photonic integrated circuits for laser systems.

High-spectral-purity frequency-agile room-temperature THz sources are foundational elements for imaging, sensing, metrology, and communications. Here a parametric oscillator-photomixer chip with coherent 2.8-octave tunable THz radiation is achieved.

Understanding the photoelectron emission time after the interaction of photon with atoms and molecules is of fundamental interest. Here the authors examine the role of partial waves to the photoionization phase shift of atoms using an attosecond clock and electron-ion coincidence spectroscopy.

In their work on radial BICs, the authors realize a nanophotonic platform with high resonance Q factors and drastically reduced spatial footprint ideally suited for enhanced on-chip biomolecular sensing and nonlinear light generation.