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The X-ray free-electron laser at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US can now generate multicolour X-ray pulses with unprecedented brightness using the fresh-slice technique. The development opens the way to new forms of spectroscopy.
Optical sensing of individual ions in solution is made possible by combining a macroscopic dielectric photonic cavity with a nanoscale metal resonator. The approach provides a platform for interrogating single-ion binding events with metal surfaces.
The launch of the first space-based source of entangled photons and other ambitious plans are driving satellite-based quantum communications and fundamental physics tests in space.
An optomechanical single-photon frequency shifter is demonstrated in integrated AlN waveguides. A frequency shift up to 150 GHz is achieved at telecom wavelength. The device shows near-unity efficiency and preserves the quantum coherence.
Polarization-entangled photons are generated from light-emitting diodes based on site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots. Selective current injection into the vicinity of a quantum dot becomes possible owing to a self-assembled vertical quantum wire.
A new scheme for multicolour X-ray free-electron lasers at soft X-ray wavelengths is proposed. The scheme significantly improves two-colour pulse generation and makes possible the first demonstration of three-colour pulse generation.
The protein crystal growth mechanism can be changed from planar 2D nucleation growth to spiral growth by femtosecond laser ablation. By using this method, the growth rate of a hen egg-white lysozyme crystal increases from 0.3 µm per day to 3.4 µm per day.
An epi-illumination system based on microlens arrays enables field-independent imaging of multiple cells with nanoscale resolution and large field of views.
Coherent mechanical oscillations are optically driven on a metamaterial absorber that has a voltage-tunable Fano resonance. Inversely, optical damping of the mechanical resonance is also achieved.
Non-thermal ultrafast switching of the magnetization in TmFeO3 is demonstrated. Few-cycle terahertz pulses modify the magnetic anisotropy of the ordered Fe3+ spins and trigger nonlinear excitation of the amplitude of spin oscillations.
A terahertz (THz) optical single-sideband modulator (OSSB) for direct conversion of free-space THz electromagnetic radiation to THz optical modulations is realized. The THz OSSB operates in the 0.3–1.0 THz range without any frequency-dependent tuning.