Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Light can now be used to raise a wing-shaped refractive object, in a technique analogous to aerodynamic lift. Grover Swartzlander from the Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA told Nature Photonics how his team achieved optical lift using a uniform collimated beam of light.
The SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source is now the world's brightest source of coherent ångström-wavelength X-rays. Paul Emma, the man who made this achievement possible, spoke to Nature Photonics about the challenges involved.
Imaging the transient carrier dynamics in semiconductors at both high temporal and spatial resolution has long been a goal for solid-state scientists. Hidemi Shigekawa from the University of Tsukuba in Japan told Nature Photonics how his team accomplished this feat.
Optical grinding and polishing plays an important role when optimizing the quality of an imaging system or minimizing unwanted reflections in a fibre-optic assembly.
The century-old field of X-ray physics is being rejuvenated by new forms of ultrabright sources based on laser technology, promising a revolution in imaging capabilities.
Munisamy Anandan, president of the Society for Information Display, talks to Rebecca Pool about the breath-taking technologies that are now emerging in the displays market.
By exploiting optical quantum interference in integrated atomic vapour cells, Holger Schmidt and co-workers have achieved the slowest on-chip light propagation speed reported to date.
Holographic laser projection technology, combined with infrared touch-recognition technology, enables consumers to interact with a virtual display that can be projected onto a wall or table.
Graphene — a form of carbon isolated only six years ago — is the topic of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics, giving hope for future applications of this intriguing material in the field of photonics.
