Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01794-1

Rui Zhu, Chenjiang Qian, Shan Xiao, Jingnan Yang, Sai Yan, Hanqing Liu, Deyan Dai, Hancong Li, Longlong Yang, Xiqing Chen, Yu Yuan, Danjie Dai, Zhanchun Zuo, Haiqiao Ni, Zhichuan Niu, Can Wang, Kuijuan Jin, Qihuang Gong, Xiulai Xu

{"title":"Full polarization control of photons with evanescent wave coupling in the ultra subwavelength gap of photonic molecules","authors":"Rui Zhu, Chenjiang Qian, Shan Xiao, Jingnan Yang, Sai Yan, Hanqing Liu, Deyan Dai, Hancong Li, Longlong Yang, Xiqing Chen, Yu Yuan, Danjie Dai, Zhanchun Zuo, Haiqiao Ni, Zhichuan Niu, Can Wang, Kuijuan Jin, Qihuang Gong, Xiulai Xu","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-01794-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01794-1","url":null,"abstract":"Polarization of photons plays a key role in quantum optics and light-matter interactions, however, it is difficult to control in nanosystems since the eigenstate of a nanophotonic cavity is usually fixed and linearly polarized. Here, we reveal the polarization control of photons using photonic molecules (PMs) that host supermodes of two coupled nanobeam cavities. In contrast to conventional PMs in a 2D photonic crystal slab, for the two 1D photonic crystal nanobeam cavities the shift and gap between them can be tuned continuously. With an ultra subwavelength gap, the coupling between the two cavities is dominated by the evanescent wave coupling in the surrounding environment, rather not the emission wave coupling for conventional PMs. As such, the non-Hermiticity of the system becomes pronounced, and the supermodes consist of a non-trivial phase difference between bare eigenstates that supports elliptical polarization. We observe that both the polarization degree and polarization angle of the antisymmetric mode strongly depend on the shift and gap between the two cavities, exhibiting polarization states from linear to circular. This full polarization control indicates the great potential of PMs in quantum optical devices and spin-resolved cavity quantum electrodynamics.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"210 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143545982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Controlling the wavefront aberration of a large-aperture and high-precision holographic diffraction grating

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01785-2

Wenhao Li, Xinyu Wang, Bayanheshig, Zhaowu Liu, Wei Wang, Shan Jiang, Yubo Li, Shuo Li, Wei Zhang, Yanxiu Jiang, Zheng Wu, Wenyuan Zhou

{"title":"Controlling the wavefront aberration of a large-aperture and high-precision holographic diffraction grating","authors":"Wenhao Li, Xinyu Wang, Bayanheshig, Zhaowu Liu, Wei Wang, Shan Jiang, Yubo Li, Shuo Li, Wei Zhang, Yanxiu Jiang, Zheng Wu, Wenyuan Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-01785-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01785-2","url":null,"abstract":"The scanning interference field exposure technique is an effective method to fabricate holographic diffraction grating with meter-level size and nano-level precision. The main problems of fabricating large-aperture and high-precision grating by this technique are the high-precision displacement measurement of the stage, the high-precision control of the interference fringe and the real time compensation of the grating phase error. In this paper, the influence of grating groove error on the wavefront aberration is analyzed. In order to improve the precision of the stage with displacement range more than one meter, an integrated displacement measurement combining grating sensing and laser interferometry is proposed, which suppresses the influence of environment on measurement precision under long displacement range. An interference fringe measurement method is proposed, which combines the diffraction characteristics of the measuring grating with the phase-shifting algorithm. By controlling the direction, period and phase nonlinear errors of the interference fringe, high quality interference fringe can be obtained. Further, a dynamic phase-locking model is established by using heterodyne interferometry to compensate grating phase error caused by stage motion error in real time. A grating with the aperture of 1500 mm × 420 mm is fabricated. The wavefront aberration reaches 0.327λ @ 632.8 nm and the wavefront gradient reaches 16.444 nm/cm. This research presents a novel technique for the fabrication of meter-level size and nano-level precision holographic grating, which would further promote the development of chirped pulse amplification systems, high-energy laser and ultra-high precision displacement measurement.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143545976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Non-invasive and fully two-dimensional quantitative visualization of transparent flow fields enabled by photonic spin-decoupled metasurfaces

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01793-2

Qingbin Fan, Peicheng Lin, Le Tan, Chunyu Huang, Feng Yan, Yanqing Lu, Ting Xu

{"title":"Non-invasive and fully two-dimensional quantitative visualization of transparent flow fields enabled by photonic spin-decoupled metasurfaces","authors":"Qingbin Fan, Peicheng Lin, Le Tan, Chunyu Huang, Feng Yan, Yanqing Lu, Ting Xu","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-01793-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01793-2","url":null,"abstract":"Transparent flow field visualization techniques play a critical role in engineering and scientific applications. They provide a clear and intuitive means to understand fluid dynamics and its complex phenomena, such as laminar flow, turbulence, and vortices. However, achieving fully two-dimensional quantitative visualization of transparent flow fields under non-invasive conditions remains a significant challenge. Here, we present an approach for achieving flow field visualization by harnessing the synergistic effects of a dielectric metasurface array endowed with photonic spin-decoupled capability. This approach enables the simultaneous acquisition of light-field images containing flow field information in two orthogonal dimensions, which allows for the real-time and quantitative derivation of multiple physical parameters. As a proof-of-concept, we experimentally demonstrate the applicability of the proposed visualization technique to various scenarios, including temperature field mapping, gas leak detection, visualization of various fluid physical phenomena, and 3D morphological reconstruction of transparent phase objects. This technique not only establishes an exceptional platform for advancing research in fluid physics, but also exhibits significant potential for broad applications in industrial design and vision.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143545979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

High-performance achromatic flat lens by multiplexing meta-atoms on a stepwise phase dispersion compensation layer

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-024-01731-8

Jingen Lin, Jinbei Chen, Jianchao Zhang, Haowen Liang, Juntao Li, Xue-Hua Wang

{"title":"High-performance achromatic flat lens by multiplexing meta-atoms on a stepwise phase dispersion compensation layer","authors":"Jingen Lin, Jinbei Chen, Jianchao Zhang, Haowen Liang, Juntao Li, Xue-Hua Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41377-024-01731-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01731-8","url":null,"abstract":"Flat optics have attracted interest for decades due to their flexibility in manipulating optical wave properties, which allows the miniaturization of bulky optical assemblies into integrated planar components. Recent advances in achromatic flat lenses have shown promising applications in various fields. However, it is a significant challenge for achromatic flat lenses with a high numerical aperture to simultaneously achieve broad bandwidth and expand the aperture sizes. Here, we present the zone division multiplex of the meta-atoms on a stepwise phase dispersion compensation (SPDC) layer to address the above challenge. In principle, the aperture size can be freely enlarged by increasing the optical thickness difference between the central and marginal zones of the SPDC layer, without the limit of the achromatic bandwidth. The SPDC layer also serves as the substrate, making the device thinner. Two achromatic flat lenses of 500 nm thickness with a bandwidth of 650–1000 nm are experimentally achieved: one with a numerical aperture of 0.9 and a radius of 20.1 µm, and another with a numerical aperture of 0.7 and a radius of 30.0 µm. To the best of our knowledge, they are the broadband achromatic flat lenses with highest numerical apertures, the largest aperture sizes and thinnest thickness reported so far. Microscopic imaging with a 1.10 µm resolution has also been demonstrated by white light illumination, surpassing any previously reported resolution attained by achromatic metalenses and multi-level diffractive lenses. These unprecedented performances mark a substantial step toward practical applications of flat lenses.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143545980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Programmable electron-induced color router array

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-024-01712-x

Cheng Chi, Zhibo Dang, Yongqi Liu, Yuwei Wang, Dewen Cheng, Zheyu Fang, Yongtian Wang

引用次数: 0

Alleviating NIR-II emission quenching in ring-fused fluorophore via manipulating dimer populations for superior fluorescence imaging

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01787-0

Xiaofei Miao, Mingxuan Jia, Xianwei Weng, Jie Zhang, Yonghui Pan, Hui Zhao, Zhongzheng Yu, Quli Fan, Wenbo Hu

{"title":"Alleviating NIR-II emission quenching in ring-fused fluorophore via manipulating dimer populations for superior fluorescence imaging","authors":"Xiaofei Miao, Mingxuan Jia, Xianwei Weng, Jie Zhang, Yonghui Pan, Hui Zhao, Zhongzheng Yu, Quli Fan, Wenbo Hu","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-01787-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01787-0","url":null,"abstract":"Emission quenching resulting from fluorophore aggregation has long been a significant challenge in optimizing emission-based technologies, such as fluorescence imaging and optoelectronic devices. Alleviating this quenching in aggregates is crucial, yet progress is impeded by the limited understanding of the nature and impact of aggregates on emission. Here, we elucidate the critical role of dimeric aggregate (dimer) in alleviating second near-infrared (NIR-II, 900-1700 nm) emission quenching from ring-fused fluorophore 4F for superior fluorescence imaging. Spectral decomposition and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate the predominance of dimer populations in 4F aggregates. Notably, dimers exhibit significantly weaker emission but intense intermolecular nonradiative (interNR) decay compared to monomers, as demonstrated by ultrafast spectra and quantum calculation. Therefore, the predominant population of dimers with weak emission and pronounced interNR feature underlies the emission quenching in 4F aggregates. This discovery guides the preparation of ultrabright NIR-II 4F nanofluorophore (4F NP3s) by decreasing dimer populations, which show 5-fold greater NIR-II brightness than indocyanine green, enabling superior resolution in visualizing blood vessels. This work offers valuable insights into aggregation-caused quenching, with broad implications extending far beyond NIR-II fluorescence imaging.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143538671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Chip-integrated quantum signature network over 200 km

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01775-4

Yongqiang Du, Bing-Hong Li, Xin Hua, Xiao-Yu Cao, Zhengeng Zhao, Feng Xie, Zhenrong Zhang, Hua-Lei Yin, Xi Xiao, Kejin Wei

{"title":"Chip-integrated quantum signature network over 200 km","authors":"Yongqiang Du, Bing-Hong Li, Xin Hua, Xiao-Yu Cao, Zhengeng Zhao, Feng Xie, Zhenrong Zhang, Hua-Lei Yin, Xi Xiao, Kejin Wei","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-01775-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01775-4","url":null,"abstract":"The development of quantum networks is paramount towards practical and secure communications. Quantum digital signatures (QDS) offer an information-theoretically secure solution for ensuring data integrity, authenticity, and non-repudiation, rapidly growing from proof-of-concept to robust demonstrations. However, previous QDS systems relied on expensive and bulky optical equipment, limiting large-scale deployment and reconfigurable networking construction. Here, we introduce and verify a chip-based QDS network, placing the complicated and expensive measurement devices in the central relay while each user needs only a low-cost transmitter. We demonstrate the network with a three-node setup using an integrated encoder chip and decoder chip. By developing a 1-decoy-state one-time universal hashing-QDS protocol, we achieve a maximum signature rate of 0.0414 times per second for a 1 Mbit messages over fiber distances up to 200 km, surpassing all current state-of-the-art QDS experiments. This study validates the feasibility of chip-based QDS, paving the way for large-scale deployment and integration with existing fiber infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143538672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Unlocking the potential of up-conversion charging for rapid and high-resolution optical storage with phosphors

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01746-9

Lu Chen, Xueqing Liu, Feng Liu, Chuan Liao, Liangliang Zhang, Jiahua Zhang, Xiao-jun Wang, Yichun Liu

{"title":"Unlocking the potential of up-conversion charging for rapid and high-resolution optical storage with phosphors","authors":"Lu Chen, Xueqing Liu, Feng Liu, Chuan Liao, Liangliang Zhang, Jiahua Zhang, Xiao-jun Wang, Yichun Liu","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-01746-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01746-9","url":null,"abstract":"Current optical storage technologies utilizing phosphor media face challenges in achieving rapid and precise data recording with visible or infrared light, primarily due to the constraints of traditional charging techniques. Here, we introduce a cutting-edge method termed up-conversion charging (UCC) to address these challenges, enabling rapid and high-resolution data storage in phosphors. Our study focuses on the unique two-step ionization and non-linear charging characteristics of UCC in storage phosphors, specifically in a gallate composition Gd3Ga5O12:Cr3+. Remarkably, this technique enables data writing with high solution, requiring only 0.01 s of exposure per bit when utilizing a portable laser engraver equipped with visible-emitting diode lasers. The present strategy not only enhances recording efficiency but also ensures long-term data retention and superior rewritability. Moreover, we illustrate the versatility of UCC storage across various material systems through thermally- and optically-stimulated luminescence. Our outcomes highlight the transformative potential of the UCC method in advancing optical storage applications, offering significant improvements in the development of information storage solutions.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143538675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A large field of view 2- and 3-photon microscope

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01780-7

Jack Waters

引用次数: 0

3R-WS2 crystals as a breakthrough in compact entangled photon sources

Light-Science & Applications Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-024-01688-8

引用次数: 0

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