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Researchers have demonstrated a compact, high-speed, surface-plasmon phase modulator that operates at telecommunication wavelengths over a wide range of operational conditions. It has the potential to boost the speed of future miniaturized integrated circuits.
A clever extension to a classic phase-contrast microscope allows speckle-free three-dimensional quantitative phase imaging of living cells in a tomographic imaging mode.
Attosecond science allows the role of electronic coherence in the control of chemical reactions in molecular systems to be investigated. This article reviews recent activities in attosecond molecular science and identifies some promising directions for further development.
This review discusses significant recent advances in the generation, characterization and application of ultrabroadband isolated attosecond pulses with a spectral bandwidth comparable to the central frequency, which can in principle be compressed to a single optical cycle.
Attosecond light pulses are used for ultrahigh-resolution observations of ultrafast phenomena in atoms, molecules and condensed matter. Measuring the durations of such pulses is challenging because the spectrum lies in the vacuum ultraviolet or soft-X-ray range. This article reviews and compares two methods — photoionization and photorecombination — for measuring the duration of attosecond pulses.
This article reviews the basic concepts underlying attosecond measurement and control techniques. Emphasis is given to exploring the fundamental speed limit of electronic signal processing that employs ultimate-speed electron metrology provided by attosecond technology.
Quantum information processing provides novel methods for pumping heat and refrigerating photons. Devices that obtain and manipulate information at the quantum level can function as quantum 'Maxwell's demons' to cool systems in ways that liquid helium cannot.
An engineered defect in silicon carbide that acts as an artificial molecule is found to be the brightest room-temperature source of single photons presently available in a bulk material. This finding suggests that silicon carbide has a promising future for applications in quantum information processing.
Researchers have demonstrated high-harmonic generation using strong terahertz pulses in a bulk solid without damaging it. The mechanism underpinning such an extreme nonlinearity also generates coherent electromagnetic radiation covering the terahertz, infrared and optical regions.
Reports of perovskite solar cells fabricated at temperatures compatible with polymer substrates indicate that high-performance flexible cells are now an exciting proposition. However, increasing the cell area and stability and addressing environmental concerns are aspects requiring attention.
Optical generation of hot electrons in metallic structures and its potential as an alternative to conventional electron–hole separation in semiconductor devices are reviewed. The possibilities for realizing high conversion efficiencies with low fabrication costs are discussed along with challenges in terms of the materials, architectures and fabrication methods
