Articles in 2014

A photodiode-based logic device employing scalable heterojunctions of carbon nanotubes and silicon whose output currents can be manipulated by both optical and electrical inputs is developed. Bidirectional phototransistors and novel clock-triggerable logic elements, such as a mixed optoelectronic AND gate, a 2-Bit optoelectronic ADDER/OR gate and a 4-Bit optoelectronic D/A converter, are also demonstrated.

A phase modulator that is only 29 µm long and operates at 65 GHz is demonstrated using plasmonics and the Pockels effect in a nonlinear polymer. The device operates across a 120-nm-wide wavelength range centred on 1,550 nm and at temperatures up to 85 °C.

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.

On-chip quantum interference between integrated photon sources has now become a reality. Mark Thompson spoke to Nature Photonics about the realization of and future outlook for integrated quantum optics.

Michele Svandrlik and Fulvio Parmigiani, respectively Project Director and Head of Science at FERMI, talk to Nature Photonics about building the first fully coherent seeded free-electron laser that outputs soft X-rays.