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    Issue 7 , 2022

      News & Views

    • Hieu. P. T. Nguyen
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1318-1319(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00861-1
      Abstract:Graphene-driving strain-pre-store engineering enables the epitaxy of strain-free AlN film with low dislocation density for DUV-LED and the unique mechanism of strain-relaxation in QvdW epitaxy was demystified.  
        
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    • Zhipeng Yu,Huanhao Li,Tianting Zhong,Puxiang Lai
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1320-1321(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00858-w
      Abstract:Time-gated reflection matrix (RM) has been successfully used for optical imaging deep inside scattering media. Recently, this method was extended to enhance the spatiotemporal focusing of light ultra-deep inside scattering media. This is achieved by calibrating the decomposition of the RM with the Tikhonov regularization parameter to convert multiply scattered photons that share the same time of flight with the singly scattered photons into singly scattered photons. Such a capability suggests a reshaping to the interaction mechanism between light and scattering media, which may benefit or inspire wide optical applications that desire enhanced spatiotemporal focusing of light at depths inside scattering media.  
        
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    • Zhen Wang,Peng Wang,Weida Hu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1322-1323(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00842-4
      Abstract:Doping is an essential element to develop next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices and has to break the limit of specific steps during material synthesis and device fabrication. Here the authors reveal "clean" doping to enhance the electric and photoelectric performance of two-dimensional (2D) indium selenide (InSe) via a neutron-transmutation method for the first time, even after device fabrication.  
        
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    • Xinzhu Xu,Peng Xi
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1324-1326(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00863-z
      Abstract:The effect of cascade amplified depletion in lanthanide upconversion systems boosts their own emission bands inhibition, which facilitates multi-color nanoscopy with only one pair of low-power NIR CW lasers.  
        
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    • Luqi Yuan,Shanhui Fan
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1327-1328(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00870-0
      Abstract:Temporal modulations in photonics bring many exotic optical phenomena in the time dimension while metamaterials provide powerful ways in manipulating light in the spatial domain. The authors envision the connection, Floquet Metamaterials, may deliver novel opportunities in nanophotonics.  
        
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    • Jing Wang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1329-1330(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00857-x
      Abstract:Highly efficient Fe3+-activated Sr2-yCay(InSb)1-zSn2zO6 broadband near-infrared-emitting phosphors with tunable emission from 885 to 1005 nm are developed as alternative for primarily studed toxic Cr3+-activated near-infrared-emitting phosphors for application in spectroscopy analysis.  
        
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    • Hans H. Gorris,Zdeněk Farka
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1331-1333(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00875-9
      Abstract:A nanocomposite consisting of a cubic EuSe semiconductor material grown on a hexagonal upconversion nanoparticle has overcome the crystal lattice mismatch that typically prevents the epitaxial growth of such heterogeneous nanocrystals. Eu3+ at the interface layer shows its characteristic red emission band both under UV excitation light due to energy transfer from the semiconductor and under NIR excitation light due to energy transfer after photon-upconversion. Data storage and security applications are suggested for this new nanocomposite.  
        
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    • Xiangang Luo
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1334-1336(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00831-7
      Abstract:An concept of electromagnetic brain-computer-metasurface (EBCM), and remotely mindcontrolled metasurface (RMCM) via brainwaves is reported in eLight. Rather than DC voltage from power supply or AC voltages from signal generators, such metasurfaces are controlled by brainwaves collected in real time and can transmit information wirelessly between human brains. Such platforms can lead to a promising approach for the service of disabled people.  
        
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    • Kosmas L. Tsakmakidis,Tomasz P. Stefański
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1337-1338(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00886-6
      Abstract:Topological features, in particular distinct band intersections known as nodal rings, usually requiring three-dimensional structures, have now been demonstrated experimentally in an elegantly simple one-dimensional photonic crystal.  
        
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    • Przemysław Jacek Dereń
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1339-1340(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00895-5
      Abstract:Photonic-engineered passive radiative cooling built into decorative climate-controlled enclosures reduces the active power consumption of the existing enclosure without sacrificing its aesthetics.  
        
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    • Lei Xu,Mohsen Rahmani
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1341-1342(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00878-6
      Abstract:An innovative time-varying metasurface has been reported to realise dual-channel data transmissions for light-to-microwave signal conversion. Such a novel technique is a remarkable step forward to realise full-spectrum networks for catering for the growing demand for wireless communications. Moreover, this technique enriches the functionalities of tunable metasurfaces and stimulates new information-oriented applications.  
        
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      Research Highlight

    • Guangbo Qu,Guibin Jiang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1343(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00839-z
        
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      Reviews

    • Kun Yin,En-Lin Hsiang,Junyu Zou,Yannanqi Li,Zhiyong Yang,Qian Yang,Po-Cheng Lai,Chih-Lung Lin,Shin-Tson Wu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1344-1365(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00851-3
      Abstract:Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and photonic devices play a pivotal role to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The recently emerging high-dynamic-range (HDR) mini-LED backlit LCDs significantly boost the image quality and brightness and reduce the power consumption for VR displays. Such a light engine is particularly attractive for compensating the optical loss of pancake structure to achieve compact and lightweight VR headsets. On the other hand, high-resolution-density, and high-brightness liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) is a promising image source for the see-through AR displays, especially under high ambient lighting conditions. Meanwhile, the high-speed LCoS spatial light modulators open a new door for holographic displays and focal surface displays. Finally, the ultrathin planar diffractive LC optical elements, such as geometric phase LC grating and lens, have found useful applications in AR and VR for enhancing resolution, widening field-of-view, suppressing chromatic aberrations, creating multiplanes to overcome the vergence-accommodation conflict, and dynamic pupil steering to achieve gaze-matched Maxwellian displays, just to name a few. The operation principles, potential applications, and future challenges of these advanced LC devices will be discussed.  
        
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    • Eric Tournié,Laura Monge Bartolome,Marta Rio Calvo,Zeineb Loghmari,Daniel A. Díaz-Thomas,Roland Teissier,Alexei N. Baranov,Laurent Cerutti,Jean-Baptiste Rodriguez
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1366-1378(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00850-4
      Abstract:There is currently much activity toward the integration of mid-infrared semiconductor lasers on Si substrates for developing a variety of smart, compact, sensors based on Si-photonics integrated circuits. We review this rapidly-evolving research field, focusing on the epitaxial integration of antimonide lasers, the only technology covering the whole mid-to-far-infrared spectral range. We explain how a dedicated molecular-beam epitaxy strategy allows for achieving high-performance GaSb-based diode lasers, InAs/AlSb quantum cascade lasers, and InAs/GaInSb interband cascade lasers by direct growth on on-axis (001)Si substrates, whereas GaAs-on-Si or GaSb-on-Si layers grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy in large capability epitaxy tools are suitable templates for antimonide laser overgrowth. We also show that etching the facets of antimonide lasers grown on Si is a viable approach in view of photonic integrated circuits. Remarkably, this review shows that while diode lasers are sensitive to residual crystal defects, the quantum cascade and interband cascade lasers grown on Si exhibit performances comparable to those of similar devices grown on their native substrates, due to their particular band structures and radiative recombination channels. Long device lifetimes have been extrapolated for interband cascade lasers. Finally, routes to be further explored are also presented.  
        
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    • Ang Li,Chunhui Yao,Junfei Xia,Huijie Wang,Qixiang Cheng,Richard Penty,Yeshaiahu Fainman,Shilong Pan
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1379-1396(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00853-1
      Abstract:The proliferation of Internet-of-Things has promoted a wide variety of emerging applications that require compact, lightweight, and low-cost optical spectrometers. While substantial progresses have been made in the miniaturization of spectrometers, most of them are with a major focus on the technical side but tend to feature a lower technology readiness level for manufacturability. More importantly, in spite of the advancement in miniaturized spectrometers, their performance and the metrics of real-life applications have seldomly been connected but are highly important. This review paper shows the market trend for chip-scale spectrometers and analyzes the key metrics that are required to adopt miniaturized spectrometers in real-life applications. Recent progress addressing the challenges of miniaturization of spectrometers is summarized, paying a special attention to the CMOS-compatible fabrication platform that shows a clear pathway to massive production. Insights for ways forward are also presented.  
        
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    • Shuaibing Li,Liang Zhou,Hongjie Zhang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1397-1413(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00866-w
      Abstract:Due to unique photo-physical characteristics, rare earth (RE) complexes play important roles in many fields, for example, telecommunications, life science, and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Especially, thanks to narrow emission bandwidth and 100% theoretical internal quantum efficiency (IQE), the study of RE complexes in the electroluminescence field has been a hot research topic in recent 30 years. As a leading technology in solid-state light source fields, OLEDs have attracted great interest from academic researchers and commercial endeavors. In the last decades, OLED-based products have trickled into the commercial market and developed quickly into portable display devices. Here, we briefly introduce the luminescent characteristics and electroluminescent (EL) study of RE complexes in material synthesis and device design. Moreover, we emphatically reveal the innovative application of RE complexes as sensitizers in OLEDs. Through experimental validation, the application of RE complexes as sensitizers can realize the complementary advantages of RE complexes and transition metal complexes, leading to significantly improved performances of OLEDs. The application of RE complexes as sensitizers provides a new strategy for designing and developing novel high performances OLEDs.  
        
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      Articles

    • Bojun Cheng,Till Zellweger,Konstantin Malchow,Xinzhi Zhang,Mila Lewerenz,Elias Passerini,Jan Aeschlimann,Ueli Koch,Mathieu Luisier,Alexandros Emboras,Alexandre Bouhelier,Juerg Leuthold
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1414-1422(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00766-z
      Abstract:Memristive devices are an emerging new type of devices operating at the scale of a few or even single atoms. They are currently used as storage elements and are investigated for performing in-memory and neuromorphic computing. Amongst these devices, Ag/amorphous-SiOx/Pt memristors are among the most studied systems, with the electrically induced filament growth and dynamics being thoroughly investigated both theoretically and experimentally. In this paper, we report the observation of a novel feature in these devices: The appearance of new photoluminescent centers in SiOx upon memristive switching, and photon emission correlated with the conductance changes. This observation might pave the way towards an intrinsically memristive atomic scale light source with applications in neural networks, optical interconnects, and quantum communication.  
        
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    • Jingxi Li,Yi-Chun Hung,Onur Kulce,Deniz Mengu,Aydogan Ozcan
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1423-1442(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00849-x
      Abstract:Research on optical computing has recently attracted significant attention due to the transformative advances in machine learning. Among different approaches, diffractive optical networks composed of spatially-engineered transmissive surfaces have been demonstrated for all-optical statistical inference and performing arbitrary linear transformations using passive, free-space optical layers. Here, we introduce a polarization-multiplexed diffractive processor to all-optically perform multiple, arbitrarily-selected linear transformations through a single diffractive network trained using deep learning. In this framework, an array of pre-selected linear polarizers is positioned between trainable transmissive diffractive materials that are isotropic, and different target linear transformations (complex-valued) are uniquely assigned to different combinations of input/output polarization states. The transmission layers of this polarization-multiplexed diffractive network are trained and optimized via deep learning and error-backpropagation by using thousands of examples of the input/output fields corresponding to each one of the complex-valued linear transformations assigned to different input/output polarization combinations. Our results and analysis reveal that a single diffractive network can successfully approximate and all-optically implement a group of arbitrarily-selected target transformations with a negligible error when the number of trainable diffractive features/neurons (N) approaches $N_pN_iN_o$, where Ni and No represent the number of pixels at the input and output fields-of-view, respectively, and Np refers to the number of unique linear transformations assigned to different input/output polarization combinations. This polarization-multiplexed all-optical diffractive processor can find various applications in optical computing and polarization-based machine vision tasks.  
        
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    • Xuhao Luo,Yueqiang Hu,Xiangnian Ou,Xin Li,Jiajie Lai,Na Liu,Xinbin Cheng,Anlian Pan,Huigao Duan
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1443-1453(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00844-2
      Abstract:Replacing electrons with photons is a compelling route toward high-speed, massively parallel, and low-power artificial intelligence computing. Recently, diffractive networks composed of phase surfaces were trained to perform machine learning tasks through linear optical transformations. However, the existing architectures often comprise bulky components and, most critically, they cannot mimic the human brain for multitasking. Here, we demonstrate a multi-skilled diffractive neural network based on a metasurface device, which can perform on-chip multi-channel sensing and multitasking in the visible. The polarization multiplexing scheme of the subwavelength nanostructures is applied to construct a multi-channel classifier framework for simultaneous recognition of digital and fashionable items. The areal density of the artificial neurons can reach up to 6.25 × 106 mm−2 multiplied by the number of channels. The metasurface is integrated with the mature complementary metal-oxide semiconductor imaging sensor, providing a chip-scale architecture to process information directly at physical layers for energy-efficient and ultra-fast image processing in machine vision, autonomous driving, and precision medicine.  
        
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    • Peng Yu,Sheng Cao,Yuliang Shan,Yuhe Bi,Yaqi Hu,Ruosheng Zeng,Bingsuo Zou,Yunjun Wang,Jialong Zhao
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1454-1463(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00855-z
      Abstract:InP-based quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs), as less toxic than Cd-free and Pb-free optoelectronic devices, have become the most promising benign alternatives for the next generation lighting and display. However, the development of green-emitting InP-based QLEDs still remains a great challenge to the environmental preparation of InP quantum dots (QDs) and superior device performance. Herein, we reported the highly efficient green-emitting InP-based QLEDs regulated by the inner alloyed shell components. Based on the environmental phosphorus tris(dimethylamino)phosphine ((DMA)3P), we obtained highly efficient InP-based QDs with the narrowest full width at half maximum (~35 nm) and highest quantum yield (~97%) by inserting the gradient inner shell layer ZnSexS1−x without further post-treatment. More importantly, we concretely discussed the effect and physical mechanism of ZnSexS1–x layer on the performance of QDs and QLEDs through the characterization of structure, luminescence, femtosecond transient absorption, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. We demonstrated that the insert inner alloyed shell ZnSexS1−x provided bifunctionality, which diminished the interface defects upon balancing the lattice mismatch and tailored the energy levels of InP-based QDs which could promote the balanced carrier injection. The resulting QLEDs applying the InP/ZnSe0.7S0.3/ZnS QDs as an emitter layer exhibited a maximum external quantum efficiency of 15.2% with the electroluminescence peak of 532 nm, which was almost the highest record of InP-based pure green-emitting QLEDs. These results demonstrated the applicability and processability of inner shell component engineering in the preparation of high-quality InP-based QLEDs.  
        
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    • Yanfeng Liu,Mahmoud Al-salihi,Yong Guo,Roman Ziniuk,Songtao Cai,Luwei Wang,Yuan Li,Zhigang Yang,Dengfeng Peng,Kai Xi,Zhongfu An,Xudong Jia,Liwei Liu,Wei Yan,Junle Qu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1464-1474(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00856-y
      Abstract:Flexible organic materials that exhibit dynamic ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (DURTP) via photoactivation have attracted increasing research interest for their fascinating functions of reversibly writing-reading-erasing graphic information in the form of a long afterglow. However, due to the existence of a nonnegligible activation threshold for the initial exposure dose, the display mode of these materials has thus far been limited to binary patterns. By resorting to halogen element doping of carbon dots (CDs) to enhance intersystem crossing and reduce the activation threshold, we were able to produce, for the first time, a transparent, flexible, and fully programmable DURTP composite film with a reliable grayscale display capacity. Examples of promising applications in UV photography and highly confidential steganography were constructed, partially demonstrating the broad future applications of this material as a programmable platform with a high optical information density.  
        
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    • Hongfei Wang,Shaojie Ma,Shuang Zhang,Dangyuan Lei
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1475-1481(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00838-0
      Abstract:Twisted bilayer systems with discrete magic angles, such as twisted bilayer graphene featuring moiré superlattices, provide a versatile platform for exploring novel physical properties. Here, we discover a class of superflat bands in general twisted bilayer systems beyond the low-energy physics of magic-angle twisted counterparts. By considering continuous lattice dislocation, we obtain intrinsic localized states, which are spectrally isolated at lowest and highest energies and spatially centered around the AA stacked region, governed by the macroscopic effective energy potential well. Such localized states exhibit negligible inter-cell coupling and support the formation of superflat bands in a wide and continuous parameter space, which can be mimicked using a twisted bilayer nanophotonic system. Our finding suggests that general twisted bilayer systems can realize continuously tunable superflat bands and the corresponding localized states for various photonic, phononic, and mechanical waves.  
        
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    • Jinlong Xiang,Zhiyuan Tao,Xingfeng Li,Yaotian Zhao,Yu He,Xuhan Guo,Yikai Su
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1482-1492(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00859-9
      Abstract:On-chip spatial mode operation, represented as mode-division multiplexing (MDM), can support high-capacity data communications and promise superior performance in various systems and numerous applications from optical sensing to nonlinear and quantum optics. However, the scalability of state-of-the-art mode manipulation techniques is significantly hindered not only by the particular mode-order-oriented design strategy but also by the inherent limitations of possibly achievable mode orders. Recently, metamaterials capable of providing subwavelength-scale control of optical wavefronts have emerged as an attractive alternative to manipulate guided modes with compact footprints and broadband functionalities. Herein, we propose a universal yet efficient design framework based on the topological metamaterial building block (BB), enabling the excitation of arbitrary high-order spatial modes in silicon waveguides. By simply programming the layout of multiple fully etched dielectric metamaterial perturbations with predefined mathematical formulas, arbitrary high-order mode conversion and mode exchange can be simultaneously realized with uniform and competitive performance. The extraordinary scalability of the metamaterial BB frame is experimentally benchmarked by a record high-order mode operator up to the twentieth. As a proof of conceptual application, an 8-mode MDM data transmission of 28-GBaud 16-QAM optical signals is also verified with an aggregate data rate of 813 Gb/s (7% FEC). This user-friendly metamaterial BB concept marks a quintessential breakthrough for comprehensive manipulation of spatial light on-chip by breaking the long-standing shackles on the scalability, which may open up fascinating opportunities for complex photonic functionalities previously inaccessible.  
        
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    • Biao Wu,Haihong Zheng,Shaofei Li,Junnan Ding,Jun He,Yujia Zeng,Keqiu Chen,Zongwen Liu,Shula Chen,Anlian Pan,Yanping Liu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1493-1500(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00854-0
      Abstract:Recent advances in twisted van der Waals heterostructure superlattices have emerged as a powerful and attractive platform for exploring novel condensed matter physics due to the interplay between the moiré potential and Coulomb interactions. The moiré superlattices act as a periodic confinement potential in space to capture interlayer excitons (IXs), resulting in moiré exciton arrays, which provide opportunities for quantum emitters and many-body physics. The observation of moiré IXs in twisted transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures has recently been widely reported. However, the capture and study of the moiré intralayer excitons based on TMD twisted homobilayer (T-HB) remain elusive. Here, we report the observation of moiré intralayer excitons in a WSe2/WSe2 T-HB with a small twist angle by measuring PL spectrum. The multiple split peaks with an energy range of 1.55–1.73 eV are different from that of the monolayer WSe2 exciton peaks. The split peaks were caused by the trapping of intralayer excitons via the moiré potential. The confinement effect of the moiré potential on the moiré intralayer excitons was further demonstrated by the changing of temperature, laser power, and valley polarization. Our findings provide a new avenue for exploring new correlated quantum phenomena and their applications.  
        
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    • Boyang Wang,Zhihong Wei,Laizhi Sui,Jingkun Yu,Baowei Zhang,Xiaoyong Wang,Shengnan Feng,Haoqiang Song,Xue Yong,Yuxi Tian,Bai Yang,Siyu Lu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1501-1514(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00865-x
      Abstract:Due to the complex core–shell structure and variety of surface functional groups, the photoluminescence (PL) mechanism of carbon dots (CDs) remain unclear. o-Phenylenediamine (oPD), as one of the most common precursors for preparing red emissive CDs, has been extensively studied. Interestingly, most of the red emission CDs based on oPD have similar PL emission characteristics. Herein, we prepared six different oPD-based CDs and found that they had almost the same PL emission and absorption spectra after purification. Structural and spectral characterization indicated that they had similar carbon core structures but different surface polymer shells. Furthermore, single-molecule PL spectroscopy confirmed that the multi-modal emission of those CDs originated from the transitions of different vibrational energy levels of the same PL center in the carbon core. In addition, the phenomenon of "spectral splitting" of single-particle CDs was observed at low temperature, which confirmed these oPD-based CDs were unique materials with properties of both organic molecules and quantum dots. Finally, theoretical calculations revealed their potential polymerization mode and carbon core structure. Moreover, we proposed the PL mechanism of red-emitting CDs based on oPD precursors; that is, the carbon core regulates the PL emission, and the polymer shell regulates the PL intensity. Our work resolves the controversy on the PL mechanism of oPD-based red CDs. These findings provide a general guide for the mechanism exploration and structural analysis of other types of CDs.  
        
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    • Hui Xia,Man Luo,Wenjing Wang,Hailu Wang,Tianxin Li,Zhen Wang,Hangyu Xu,Yue Chen,Yong Zhou,Fang Wang,Runzhang Xie,Peng Wang,Weida Hu,Wei Lu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1515-1522(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00814-8
      Abstract:In semiconductor manufacturing, PN junction is formed by introducing dopants to activate neighboring electron and hole conductance. To avoid structural distortion and failure, it generally requires the foreign dopants localize in the designated micro-areas. This, however, is challenging due to an inevitable interdiffusion process. Here we report a brand-new junction architecture, called "layer PN junction", that might break through such limit and help redefine the semiconductor device architecture. Different from all existing semiconductors, we find that a variety of van der Waals materials are doping themselves from n- to p-type conductance with an increasing/decreasing layer-number. It means the capability of constructing homogeneous PN junctions in monolayers' dimension/precision, with record high rectification-ratio (> 105) and low cut-off current (< 1 pA). More importantly, it spawns intriguing functionalities, like gate-switchable-rectification and noise-signal decoupled avalanching. Findings disclosed here might open up a path to develop novel nanodevice applications, where the geometrical size becomes the only critical factor in tuning charge-carrier distribution and thus functionality.  
        
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    • Pengfei Qi,Yuchen Dai,Yang Luo,Guangyi Tao,Liheng Zheng,Donglin Liu,Tianhao Zhang,Jiadong Zhou,Bo Shen,Feng Lin,Zheng Liu,Zheyu Fang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1523-1534(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00860-2
      Abstract:Phonon-assisted upconverted emission is the heart of energy harvesting, bioimaging, optical cryptography, and optical refrigeration. It has been demonstrated that emerging two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors can provide an excellent platform for efficient phonon-assisted upconversion due to the enhanced optical transition strength and phonon-exciton interaction of 2D excitons. However, there is little research on the further enhancement of excitonic upconverted emission in 2D semiconductors. Here, we report the enhanced multiphoton upconverted emission of 2D excitons in doubly resonant plasmonic nanocavities. Owing to the enhanced light collection, enhanced excitation rate, and quantum efficiency enhancement arising from the Purcell effect, an upconverted emission amplification of > 1000-fold and a decrease of 2~3 orders of magnitude in the saturated excitation power are achieved. These findings pave the way for the development of excitonic upconversion lasing, nanoscopic thermometry, and sensing, revealing the possibility of optical refrigeration in future 2D electronic or excitonic devices.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Kosta Oubrerie,Adrien Leblanc,Olena Kononenko,Ronan Lahaye,Igor A. Andriyash,Julien Gautier,Jean-Philippe Goddet,Lorenzo Martelli,Amar Tafzi,Kim Ta Phuoc,Slava Smartsev,Cédric Thaury
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1535-1541(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00862-0
      Abstract:Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) produce electric fields of the order of 100GVm−1, more than 1000 times larger than those produced by radio-frequency accelerators. These uniquely strong fields make LPAs a promising path to generate electron beams beyond the TeV, an important goal in high-energy physics. Yet, large electric fields are of little benefit if they are not maintained over a long distance. It is therefore of the utmost importance to guide the ultra-intense laser pulse that drives the accelerator. Reaching very high energies is equally useless if the properties of the electron beam change completely from shot to shot, due to the intrinsic lack of stability of the injection process. State-of-the-art laser-plasma accelerators can already address guiding and control challenges separately by tweaking the plasma structures. However, the production of beams that are simultaneously high quality and high energy has yet to be demonstrated. This paper presents a novel experiment, coupling laser-plasma waveguides and controlled injection techniques, facilitating the reliable and efficient acceleration of high-quality electron beams up to 1.1GeV, from a 50 TW-class laser.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Weihong Yuan,Ran Pang,Shangwei Wang,Tao Tan,Chengyu Li,Chaowei Wang,Hongjie Zhang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1542-1554(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00868-8
      Abstract:Alternating current light-emitting diodes (AC-LEDs) have received significant attention from both academia and industry due to their remarkable benefits of more compact volume, cheaper manufacturing cost, greater energy usage efficiency, and longer service life. One of the most significant challenges for AC-LEDs is the flicker effect, which is mainly caused by the unavoidable 5–20 ms dimming time. Aiming to reduce the flicker effect, we designed a series of excellent blue-light excited cyan-emitting persistent luminescence (PersL) phosphors BaLu2Al2Ga2SiO12: Ce3+, Bi3+ via defect engineering of co-doping Bi3+. Interestingly, we found that co-doping Bi3+ not only effectively enhanced the PersL intensity, but also regulated the PersL lifetime of this phosphors. As the Bi3+ co-doping concentration increases to 0.01, the τ80 value (the time when the PersL intensity decreases to 80% of the initial intensity) increases from 0.24 to 19.61 ms, which proves to be effective in compensating the flicker effect of AC-LEDs. A new method of generating white light emission during the dimming time through adding the blue-light excited cyan PersL phosphor to the original orange-red PersL phosphor was proposed and an AC-LED lamp with a decreased percent flicker of 48.15% was fabricated, which is significantly better than the other currently reported AC-LED devices based on PersL phosphors. These results demonstrate that BaLu2Al2Ga2SiO12: Ce3+, Bi3+ might be an attractive material for low-flicker AC-LEDs.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Jingyu Hu,Yuanqiang Sun,Xin Geng,Junli Wang,Yifei Guo,Lingbo Qu,Ke Zhang,Zhaohui Li
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1555-1564(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00873-x
      Abstract:Polarity is an integral microenvironment parameter in biological systems closely associated with a multitude of cellular processes. Abnormal polarity variations accompany the initiation and development of pathophysiological processes. Thus, monitoring the abnormal polarity is of scientific and practical importance. Current state-of-the-art monitoring techniques are primarily based on fluorescence imaging which relies on a single emission intensity and may cause inaccurate detection due to heterogeneous accumulation of the probes. Herein, we report carbon dots (CDs) with ultra-sensitive responses to polarity. The CDs exhibit two linear relationships: one between fluorescence intensity and polarity and the other between polarity and the maximum emission wavelength. The emission spectrum is an intrinsic property of the probes, independent of the excitation intensity or probe concentration. These features enable two-color imaging/quantitation of polarity changes in lipid droplets (LDs) and in the cytoplasm via in situ emission spectroscopy. The probes reveal the polarity heterogeneity in LDs which can be applied to make a distinction between cancer and normal cells, and reveal the polarity homogeneity in cytoplasm.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Chun-Guang Ma,Jin-Long Xiao,Zhi-Xiong Xiao,Yue-De Yang,Yong-Zhen Huang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1565-1574(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00890-w
      Abstract:Chaotic semiconductor lasers have been widely investigated for generating unpredictable random numbers, especially for lasers with external optical feedback. Nevertheless, chaotic lasers under external feedback are hindered by external feedback loop time, which causes correlation peaks for chaotic output. Here, we demonstrate the first self-chaotic microlaser based on internal mode interaction for a dual-mode microcavity laser, and realize random number generation using the self-chaotic laser output. By adjusting mode frequency interval close to the intrinsic relaxation oscillation frequency, nonlinear dynamics including self-chaos and period-oscillations are predicted and realized numerically and experimentally due to internal mode interaction. The internal mode interaction and corresponding carrier spatial oscillations pave the way of mode engineering for nonlinear dynamics in a solitary laser. Our findings provide a novel and easy method to create controllable and robust optical chaos for high-speed random number generation.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Yi-Long Li,Nan-Nan Li,Di Wang,Fan Chu,Sin-Doo Lee,Yi-Wei Zheng,Qiong-Hua Wang
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1575-1584(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00880-y
      Abstract:As one of the most ideal display approaches, holographic 3-dimensional (3D) display has always been a research hotspot since the holographic images reproduced in such system are very similar to what humans see the actual environment. However, current holographic 3D displays suffer from critical bottlenecks of narrow viewing angle and small size. Here, we propose a tunable liquid crystal grating-based holographic 3D display system with wide viewing angle and large size. Our tunable liquid crystal grating, providing an adjustable period and the secondary diffraction of the reconstructed image, enables to simultaneously implement two different hologram generation methods in achieving wide viewing angle and enlarged size, respectively. By using the secondary diffraction mechanism of the tunable liquid crystal grating, the proposed system breaks through the limitations of narrow viewing angle and small size of holographic 3D display. The proposed system shows a viewing angle of 57.4°, which is nearly 7 times of the conventional case with a single spatial light modulator, and the size of the reconstructed image is enlarged by about 4.2. The proposed system will have wide applications in medical diagnosis, advertising, education and entertainment and other fields.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Weili Li,Xuemei Hu,Jingbo Wu,Kebin Fan,Benwen Chen,Caihong Zhang,Wei Hu,Xun Cao,Biaobing Jin,Yanqing Lu,Jian Chen,Peiheng Wu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1585-1594(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00879-5
      Abstract:Spatial light modulators (SLM), capable of dynamically and spatially manipulating electromagnetic waves, have reshaped modern life in projection display and remote sensing. The progress of SLM will expedite next-generation communication and biomedical imaging in the terahertz (THz) range. However, most current THz SLMs are adapted from optical alternatives that still need improvement in terms of uniformity, speed, and bandwidth. Here, we designed, fabricated, and characterized an 8 × 8 THz SLM based on tunable liquid crystal metamaterial absorbers for THz single-pixel compressive imaging. We demonstrated dual-color compressive sensing (CS) imaging for dispersive objects utilizing the large frequency shift controlled by an external electric field. We developed auto-calibrated compressive sensing (ACS) algorithm to mitigate the impact of the spatially nonuniform THz incident beam and pixel modulation, which significantly improves the fidelity of reconstructed images. Furthermore, the complementary modulation at two absorption frequencies enables Hadamard masks with negative element values to be realized by frequency-switching, thereby halving the imaging time. The demonstrated imaging system paves a new route for THz single-pixel multispectral imaging with high reliability and low cost.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Geon Kim,Daewoong Ahn,Minhee Kang,Jinho Park,DongHun Ryu,YoungJu Jo,Jinyeop Song,Jea Sung Ryu,Gunho Choi,Hyun Jung Chung,Kyuseok Kim,Doo Ryeon Chung,In Young Yoo,Hee Jae Huh,Hyun-seok Min,Nam Yong Lee,YongKeun Park
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1595-1606(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00881-x
      Abstract:The healthcare industry is in dire need of rapid microbial identification techniques for treating microbial infections. Microbial infections are a major healthcare issue worldwide, as these widespread diseases often develop into deadly symptoms. While studies have shown that an early appropriate antibiotic treatment significantly reduces the mortality of an infection, this effective treatment is difficult to practice. The main obstacle to early appropriate antibiotic treatments is the long turnaround time of the routine microbial identification, which includes time-consuming sample growth. Here, we propose a microscopy-based framework that identifies the pathogen from single to few cells. Our framework obtains and exploits the morphology of the limited sample by incorporating three-dimensional quantitative phase imaging and an artificial neural network. We demonstrate the identification of 19 bacterial species that cause bloodstream infections, achieving an accuracy of 82.5% from an individual bacterial cell or cluster. This performance, comparable to that of the gold standard mass spectroscopy under a sufficient amount of sample, underpins the effectiveness of our framework in clinical applications. Furthermore, our accuracy increases with multiple measurements, reaching 99.9% with seven different measurements of cells or clusters. We believe that our framework can serve as a beneficial advisory tool for clinicians during the initial treatment of infections.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Jiao Geng,Wei Yan,Liping Shi,Min Qiu
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1607-1614(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00883-9
      Abstract:It is always a great challenge to bridge the nano- and macro-worlds in nanoscience, for instance, manufacturing uniform nanogratings on a whole wafer in seconds instead of hours even days. Here, we demonstrate a single-step while extremely high-throughput femtosecond laser scanning technique to obtain wafer-scale, highly regular nanogratings on semiconductor-on-metal thin films. Our technique takes advantage of long-range surface plasmons-laser interference, which is regulated by a self-initiated seed. By controlling the scanning speed, two types of nanogratings are readily manufactured, which are produced by either oxidation or ablation. We achieve a record manufacturing speed (> 1 cm2 s−1), with tunable periodicity of Λ < 1 µm. The fractional variation of their periodicity is evaluated to be as low as ∆Λ/Λ ≈ 0.5%. Furthermore, by utilizing the semiconductor-on-metal film-endowed interference effects, an extremely high energy efficiency is achieved via suppressing light reflection during femtosecond laser nano-processing. As the fabricated nanogratings exhibit multi-functionality, we exemplify their practical applications in highly sensitive refractive index sensing, vivid structural colors, and durable superhydrophilicity.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
    • Qin-Qin Wang,Si-Jing Tao,Wei-Wei Pan,Zhe Chen,Geng Chen,Kai Sun,Jin-Shi Xu,Xiao-Ye Xu,Yong-Jian Han,Chuan-Feng Li,Guang-Can Guo
      Vol. 11, Issue 7, Pages: 1615-1624(2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00887-5
      Abstract:Identifying the general mechanics behind the equilibration of a complex isolated quantum system towards a state described by only a few parameters has been the focus of attention in non-equilibrium thermodynamics. And several experimentally unproven conjectures are proposed for the statistical description of quantum (non-)integrable models. The plausible eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), which suggests that each energy eigenstate itself is thermal, plays a crucial role in understanding the quantum thermalization in non-integrable systems; it is commonly believed that it does not exist in integrable systems. Nevertheless, integrable systems can still relax to the generalized Gibbs ensemble. From a microscopic perspective, understanding the origin of this generalized thermalization that occurs in an isolated integrable system is a fundamental open question lacking experimental investigations. Herein, we experimentally investigated the spin subsystem relaxation in an isolated spin–orbit coupling quantum system. By applying the quantum state engineering technique, we initialized the system with various distribution widths in the mutual eigenbasis of the conserved quantities. Then, we compared the steady state of the spin subsystem reached in a long-time coherent dynamics to the prediction of a generalized version of ETH and the underlying mechanism of the generalized thermalization is experimentally verified for the first time. Our results facilitate understanding the origin of quantum statistical mechanics.  
        
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      Published:2022-07-26
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