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Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have now been realized in a CMOS-style process by exploiting nonlinear four-wave mixing. Such multiwavelength sources bring the prospect of ultrafast chip-to-chip optical data communications a step closer.
By combining the output from two synchronized light sources, single-cycle laser pulses at the telecommunications wavelength of 1.5 μm have been successfully generated. The achievement is set to benefit ultrafast optical spectroscopy and attosecond science.
The entanglement of squeezed light beams is critical for quantum optical applications, but has so far been achieved with only two light beams. Now, researchers have surpassed this restriction and achieved entanglement with three beams of different colours. They also report a finite loss level for disentanglement of one beam from the other two.
It has long been known that the optical resonances of ultrahigh-Q whispering gallery mode resonators can split under the influence of particle scattering. Now scientists have exploited this splitting to accurately determine particle sizes.