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Materials for optics are substances used to manipulate the flow of light. This can include reflecting, absorbing, focusing or splitting an optical beam. The efficiency of a specific material at each task is strongly wavelength dependent, thus a full understanding of the interaction between light and matter is vital.
A single light-emitting dye molecule precisely placed within the tiny gap of a metal nanodimer boosts light–matter coupling — a step closer to the development of quantum devices operating at room temperature.
Luminescent materials with narrowband emissions are vital for optoelectronic applications. Here, the authors achieve room temperature phosphorescence with a FWHM of 30 nm through the multiple resonance effect and showcase its practical application in X-ray imaging.
Researchers demonstrate that image-processing metasurfaces can be dynamically reconfigured by using phase-change materials. The work might lead to novel tunable devices for compact optical computing for applications in AR/VR and bio-medical imaging.
Optical filter materials are used across scientific disciplines for imaging or spectroscopy, but inexpensive and eco-friendly alternatives remain underexplored. Here, the authors exploit the localized surface plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles embedded in edible gelatine for modular light filters working in the ultraviolet to near-infrared range.
A consistency issue with the production of porous polymer-based radiative coatings can be a significant drop in the cooling performance when dried under humid conditions. This issue is efficiently resolved by adding polymer reinforcement.
Polaritons – hybrid light-matter excitations – in van der Waals materials hold promise for photonics applications below the diffraction limit. Here, the authors demonstrate in-plane steering and cloaking of phonon polaritons in assembled micro-structures based on α-MoO3 films with misaligned crystallographic orientations.
A single light-emitting dye molecule precisely placed within the tiny gap of a metal nanodimer boosts light–matter coupling — a step closer to the development of quantum devices operating at room temperature.
Highly efficient matrix-free hyperfluorescent organic light-emitting diodes are constructed with remarkably supressed Dexter transfer utilizing narrowband blue emitters encapsulated with hopped alkyl chains.
Properly maintaining the skin temperature is critical for wound healing, especially outdoors. Now, a lightweight and skin-friendly wound dressing is reported that can continuously cool the skin without energy input.
Even by shining classical light on a single opening, one can perform a double-slit experiment and discover a surprising variety of quantum mechanical multi-photon correlations — thanks to surface plasmon polaritons and photon-number-resolving detectors.