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Volume 14  Issue 4,2025 2025年14卷第4 Issue
  • News & Views

    Zhaoyu Cai, Chengying Bao

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01767-4
    Abstract:A new microcavity magnetometry with FeGaB thin film achieves 1.68 pT/Hz1/2 sensitivity, which is two orders of magnitude improvement over previous work. Corona current detection has been demonstrated using this magnetometer.  
      
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    Won Hur, Gi Hun Seong, Hak Soo Choi

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01782-5
    Abstract:The integration of spatiotemporally resolved clearance pathway tracking (SRCPT) provides a new lens for evaluating drug clearance pathways, enabling precise mapping of physiological conditions of metabolic organs, such as liver or kidney impairment.  
      
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    Xinyu Yang, Mengxi Tan, David J. Moss

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-024-01688-8
    Abstract:In a breakthrough that promises to revolutionize quantum photonic systems, researchers have successfully demonstrated a high-performance, ultracompact polarization-entangled photon-pair source using the van der Waals-based two-dimensional 3R-WS2 crystal. This achievement opens new avenues for integrated quantum technologies, paving the way for advanced applications in quantum computing, communication, and metrology.  
      
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    Quansheng Cheng, Qingcheng Wang, Songnan Qu

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01757-6
    Abstract:A dual-functional nanoplatform is demonstrated that is found to have the characteristics of cancer cell targeting, pH response, near-infrared fluorescence imaging, and lysosome targeting. It can simultaneously achieve pyroptosis and ferroptosis under the mediation of photons for cancer immunotherapy.  
      
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    Jack Waters

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01780-7
    Abstract:A new multiphoton fluorescence microscope has been developed, offering cellular resolution across a large field of view deep within biological tissues. This opens new possibilities across a range of biological sciences, particularly within neuroscience where optical approaches can reveal signaling in real time throughout an extended network of cells distributed through the brain of an awake, behaving mouse.  
      
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    Updated:2025-04-18
  • Reviews

    Chao Qian, Longwei Tian, Hongsheng Chen

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-024-01729-2
    Abstract:Pursuing higher data rate with limited spectral resources is a longstanding topic that has triggered the fast growth of modern wireless communication techniques. However, the massive deployment of active nodes to compensate for propagation loss necessitates high hardware expenditure, energy consumption, and maintenance cost, as well as complicated network interference issues. Intelligent metasurfaces, composed of a number of subwavelength passive or active meta-atoms, have recently found to be a new paradigm to actively reshape wireless communication environment in a green way, distinct from conventional works that passively adapt to the surrounding. In this review, we offer a unified perspective on how intelligent metasurfaces can facilitate wireless communication in three manners: signal relay, signal transmitter, and signal processor. We start by the basic modeling of wireless channel and the evolution of metasurfaces from passive, active to intelligent metasurfaces. Integrated with various deep learning algorithms, intelligent metasurfaces adapt to cater for the ever-changing environments without human intervention. Then, we overview specific experimental advancements using intelligent metasurfaces. We conclude by identifying key issues in the practical implementations of intelligent metasurfaces, and surveying new directions, such as gain metasurfaces and knowledge migration.  
      
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    Updated:2025-04-18

    Rui Wang, Wei Li, Zhiwen Xia, Hongchang Deng, Yao Zhang, Rongxin Fu, Shuailong Zhang, Tijmen G. Euser, Libo Yuan, Ningfang Song, Yi Jiang, Shangran Xie

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01801-5
    Abstract:Hollow-core fiber (HCF) is a special optical waveguide type that can guide light in the air or liquid core surrounded by properly designed cladding structures. The guiding modes of the fiber can generate sufficient optical gradient forces to balance the gravity of the particles or confine the atom clouds, forming a stable optical trap in the hollow core. The levitated objects can be propelled over the fiber length along the beam axis through an imbalance of the optical scattering forces or by forming an optical lattice by the counter-propagating beams. The ability to overcome the diffraction of the laser beam in HCF can significantly increase the range of the optical manipulation compared with standard free-space optical tweezers, opening up vast ranges of applications that require long-distance optical control. Since the first demonstration of optical trapping in HCF, hollow-core-fiber-based optical trap (HCF-OT) has become an essential branch of optical tweezer that draws intense research interests. Fast progress on the fundamental principle and applied aspects of HCF-OT has been visible over the past two decades. In recent years, significant milestones in reducing the propagation loss of HCF have been achieved, making HCF an attractive topic in the field of optics and photonics. This further promotes the research and applications of HCF-OT. This review starts from the mechanism of light guidance of HCF, mainly focusing on the issues related to the optical trap in the hollow core. The basic principles and key features of HCF-OT, from optical levitation to manipulation and the detection of macroscopic particles and atoms, are summarized in detail. The key applications of HCF-OT, the challenges and future directions of the technique are also discussed.  
      
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    Updated:2025-04-18
  • Original Articles

    Zimo Zhao, Yifei Ma, Zipei Song, Jacopo Antonello, Jiahe Cui, Binguo Chen, Jingyu Wang, Bangshan Sun, Honghui He, Lin Luo, Julian A. J. Fells, Steve J. Elston, Martin J. Booth, Stephen M. Morris, Chao He

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01779-0
    Abstract:Adaptive optics (AO) is a powerful tool employed across various research fields, from aerospace to microscopy. Traditionally, AO has focused on correcting optical phase aberrations, with recent advances extending to polarisation compensation. However, intensity errors are also prevalent in optical systems, yet effective correction methods are still in their infancy. Here, we introduce a novel AO approach, termed intensity adaptive optics (I-AO), which employs a dual-feedback loop mechanism to first address non-uniform intensity distribution and subsequently compensate for energy loss at the pupil plane. We demonstrate that I-AO can operate in both sensor-based and sensorless formats and validate its feasibility by quantitatively analysing the focus quality of an aberrated system. This technique expands the AO toolkit, paving the way for next-generation AO technology.  
      
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    Updated:2025-04-18

    Jiehua Zhou, Liye Mei, Mingjie Yu, Xiao Ma, Dan Hou, Zhuo Yin, Xun Liu, Yan Ding, Kaining Yang, Ruidong Xiao, Xiandan Yuan, Yueyun Weng, Mengping Long, Taobo Hu, Jinxuan Hou, Yu Xu, Liang Tao, Sisi Mei, Hui Shen, Yaxiaer Yalikun, Fuling Zhou, Liang Wang, Du Wang, Sheng Liu, Cheng Lei

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-025-01754-9
    Abstract:Imaging flow cytometry (IFC) combines the imaging capabilities of microscopy with the high throughput of flow cytometry, offering a promising solution for high-precision and high-throughput cell analysis in fields such as biomedicine, green energy, and environmental monitoring. However, due to limitations in imaging framerate and real-time data processing, the real-time throughput of existing IFC systems has been restricted to approximately 1000-10,000 events per second (eps), which is insufficient for large-scale cell analysis. In this work, we demonstrate IFC with real-time throughput exceeding 1,000,000 eps by integrating optical time-stretch (OTS) imaging, microfluidic-based cell manipulation, and online image processing. Cells flowing at speeds up to 15m/s are clearly imaged with a spatial resolution of 780nm, and images of each individual cell are captured, stored, and analyzed. The capabilities and performance of our system are validated through the identification of malignancies in clinical colorectal samples. This work sets a new record for throughput in imaging flow cytometry, and we believe it has the potential to revolutionize cell analysis by enabling highly efficient, accurate, and intelligent measurement.  
      
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    Yifan Zhu, Runze Liu, Ailun Yi, Xudong Wang, Yuanhao Qin, Zihao Zhao, Junyi Zhao, Bowen Chen, Xiuqi Zhang, Sannian Song, Yongheng Huo, Xin Ou, Jiaxiang Zhang

    DOI:10.1038/s41377-024-01676-y
    Abstract:The ability to control nonclassical light emission from a single quantum emitter by an integrated cavity may unleash new perspectives for integrated photonic quantum applications. However, coupling a single quantum emitter to cavity within photonic circuitry towards creation of the Purcell-enhanced single-photon emission is elusive due to the complexity of integrating active devices in low-loss photonic circuits. Here we demonstrate a hybrid micro-ring resonator (HMRR) coupled with self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) for cavity-enhanced deterministic single-photon emission. The HMRR cavity supports whispering-gallery modes with quality factors up to 7.8×103. By further introducing a micro-heater, we show that the photon emission of QDs can be locally and dynamically tuned over one free spectral ranges of the HMRR (~ 4 nm). This allows precise tuning of individual QDs in resonance with the cavity modes, thereby enhancing single-photon emission with a Purcell factor of about 4.9. Our results on the hybrid integrated cavities coupled with two-level quantum emitters emerge as promising devices for chip-based scalable photonic quantum applications.  
      
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