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Nanotubes and graphene have emerged as promising materials for use in ultrafast fibre lasers. Their unique electrical and optical properties enable them to be used as saturable absorbers that have fast responses and broadband operation and that can be easily integrated in fibre lasers.
The development of innovative tools and techniques is vital for improving research capabilities and opening up new research directions in the terahertz regime. Terahertz sources and plasmonics are just two examples of current exciting advances.
The quest for on-chip optical isolators has recently spawned many new isolator structures. However, there has been some confusion about the requirement of nonreciprocity. Here, we review the essential characteristics of an isolator.
Governments are demanding more value for money from scientists, which is putting fundamental research under increasing pressure. Scientists should know how to champion it more effectively.
Could massive arrays of thousands of fibre lasers be the driving force behind next-generation particle accelerators? The International Coherent Amplification Network project believes so and is currently performing a feasibility study.
