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    Vol. 12 Issue 12 2023

      News & Views

    • Navendu Mondal,Ben P. Carwithen,Artem A. Bakulin
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2535-2537(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01316-x
      Abstract:Hot carrier cooling is slowed down upon alloying tin in lead-halide perovskite nanocrystals through the engineering of carrier-phonon and carrier-defect interactions.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Yaoguang Ma
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2538-2539(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01317-w
      Abstract:A Roll-to-roll technology can enable the fabrication of trench-like photonic meta-structures that are strongly absorptive in the MIR region, providing a controllable optical response for diurnal radiative cooling.  
        
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    • Min-Soo Hwang,Hong-Gyu Park
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2540-2542(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01319-8
      Abstract:The lithographically designed potential wells in monolayer WS2 microcavities are utilized to manipulate nonlinear transition-metal dichalcogenide polaritons and enhance the polariton-reservoir interaction strength.  
        
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    • Radan Slavík
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2543-2544(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01318-9
      Abstract:Recently, significant efforts have been devoted to enable light resonating inside various resonators for long time, leading to high Q factors. Achieving tunability of the free spectral range while maintaining high Q has been, however, challenging.  
        
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    • Amanda P. Siegel,Kamran Avanaki
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2545-2547(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01322-z
      Abstract:Diabetes progression is marked by damage to vascular and neural networks. Raster-scan optoacoustic mesoscopy holds the potential to measure extent of diabetes progression by analyzing changes in skin vasculature.  
        
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    • Yide Zhang
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2548-2550(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01323-y
      Abstract:A computational imaging platform utilizing a physics-incorporated, deep-learned design of binary phase filter and a jointly optimized deconvolution neural network has been reported, achieving high-resolution, high-contrast imaging over extended depth ranges without the need for serial refocusing.  
        
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    • Huixian Zhou,Cheng Zhang
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2551-2553(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01331-y
      Abstract:Real-time controlled programmable metasurfaces, having an array-of-subarrays architecture under the control of one-bit digital coding sequence, are demonstrated for rapid and precise multifunctional Terahertz wave front engineering.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12

      Light People

    • Hui Wang,Cun Yu
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2558-2564(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01325-w
      Abstract:Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconductors are compound semiconductor materials formed by combining group-Ⅲ and group-V elements. With properties such as direct bandgap, high electron mobility, good homogeneity of large-size crystals and good lattice matching, they are widely used in micro- and opto-electronics, integrated circuits, laser communications, etc., and promise great potentials. Our Light People is someone who has long been engaged in the research of Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconductor materials, structures and devices. She is Prof. Lan Fu from the Australian National University (ANU).As an outstanding student of Prof. Chennupati Jagadish, President of the Australian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Fu is not only a leading researcher in her field, but also a scientist with an independent spirit. She is currently the Head of the Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, where she leads a team in the research of Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconductors.A sincere and humble person, Prof. Fu focuses on nurturing professional attitude, critical thinking and problem solving skills in her students. In addition, she is actively involved in various professional activities, which allows her to integrate research and practice. She believes that integrity, passion, curiosity and perseverance are the key characters of a good scientific researcher and encourages her students to avoid being arrogant or rush but concentrate on good rigorous work.For this issue of Light People, we will learn about Professor Lan Fu's unique charisma as an academic and her fascinating life philosophy.  
        
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      Original Articles

    • MinDong Sung,Jong Hyun Kim,Hyun-Seok Min,Sooyoung Jang,JaeSeong Hong,Bo Kyu Choi,JuHye Shin,Kyung Soo Chung,Yu Rang Park
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2565-2576(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01309-w
      Abstract:Sepsis is a dysregulated immune response to infection that leads to organ dysfunction and is associated with a high incidence and mortality rate. The lack of reliable biomarkers for diagnosing and prognosis of sepsis is a major challenge in its management. We aimed to investigate the potential of three-dimensional label-free CD8 + T cell morphology as a biomarker for sepsis. This study included three-time points in the sepsis recovery cohort (N = 8) and healthy controls (N = 20). Morphological features and spatial distribution within cells were compared among the patients' statuses. We developed a deep learning model to predict the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis using the internal cell morphology. Correlation between the morphological features and clinical indices were analysed. Cell morphological features and spatial distribution differed significantly between patients with sepsis and healthy controls and between the survival and non-survival groups. The model for predicting the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of nearly 100% with only a few cells, and a strong correlation between the morphological features and clinical indices was observed. Our study highlights the potential of three-dimensional label-free CD8 + T cell morphology as a promising biomarker for sepsis. This approach is rapid, requires a minimum amount of blood samples, and has the potential to provide valuable information for the early diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis.  
        
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    • Zezhan Zhang,Mengchao Chen,Lichuan Zhang,Hongzu Li,Hairui Huang,Zilong Zhang,Peifeng Yu,Yi Niu,Shan Gao,Chao Wang,Jing Jiang
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2577-2588(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01312-1
      Abstract:Spectral emissivity is an essential and sensitive parameter to characterize the radiative capacity of the solid surface in scientific and engineering applications, which would be non-negligibly affected by surface morphology. However, there is a lack of assessment of the effect of roughness on emissivity and a straightforward method for estimating the emissivity of rough surfaces. This paper established an estimating method based on constructing random rough surfaces to predict rough surface (Geometric region) emissivity for metal solids. Based on this method, the emissivity of ideal gray and non-gray body surfaces was calculated and analyzed. The calculated and measured spectral emissivities of GH3044, K465, DD6, and TC4 alloys with different roughness were compared. The results show that the emissivity increases with the roughness degree, and the enhancement effect weakens with the increase of roughness or emissivity due to the existing limit (emissivity ε = 1.0). At the same time, the roughness would not change the overall spectral distribution characteristics but may attenuate the local features of the spectral emissivity. The estimated results are in good agreement with the experimental data for the above alloys' rough surfaces. This study provides a new reliable approach to obtaining the spectral emissivity of rough surfaces. This approach is especially beneficial for measuring objects in extreme environments where emissivity is difficult to obtain. Meanwhile, this study promotes an understanding of surface morphology's effect mechanism on emissivity.  
        
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    • Yining Zhu,Yiwei Zhou,Bing Qin,Rui Qin,Min Qiu,Qiang Li
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2589-2596(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01315-y
      Abstract:Night-time warming is vital for human production and daily life. Conventional methods like active heaters are energy-intensive, while passive insulating films possess restrictions regarding space consumption and the lack of heat gain. In this work, a nanophotonic-based night-time warming strategy that passively inhibits thermal radiation of objects while actively harnessing that of atmosphere is proposed. By using a photonic-engineered thin film that exhibits high reflectivity (~0.91) in the atmospheric transparent band (8–14 μm) and high absorptivity (~0.7) in the atmospheric radiative band (5–8 and 14–16 μm), temperature rise of 2.1 ℃/4.4 ℃ compared to typical low-e film and broadband absorber is achieved. Moreover, net heat loss as low as 9 W m−2 is experimentally observed, compared to 16 and 39 W m−2 for low-e film and broadband absorber, respectively. This strategy suggests an innovative way for sustainable warming, thus contributes to addressing the challenges of climate change and promoting global carbon neutrality.  
        
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    • Qi Hu,Martin Hailstone,Jingyu Wang,Matthew Wincott,Danail Stoychev,Huriye Atilgan,Dalia Gala,Tai Chaiamarit,Richard M. Parton,Jacopo Antonello,Adam M. Packer,Ilan Davis,Martin J. Booth
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2597-2609(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01297-x
      Abstract:The resolution and contrast of microscope imaging is often affected by aberrations introduced by imperfect optical systems and inhomogeneous refractive structures in specimens. Adaptive optics (AO) compensates these aberrations and restores diffraction limited performance. A wide range of AO solutions have been introduced, often tailored to a specific microscope type or application. Until now, a universal AO solution – one that can be readily transferred between microscope modalities – has not been deployed. We propose versatile and fast aberration correction using a physics-based machine learning assisted wavefront-sensorless AO control (MLAO) method. Unlike previous ML methods, we used a specially constructed neural network (NN) architecture, designed using physical understanding of the general microscope image formation, that was embedded in the control loop of different microscope systems. The approach means that not only is the resulting NN orders of magnitude simpler than previous NN methods, but the concept is translatable across microscope modalities. We demonstrated the method on a two-photon, a three-photon and a widefield three-dimensional (3D) structured illumination microscope. Results showed that the method outperformed commonly-used modal-based sensorless AO methods. We also showed that our ML-based method was robust in a range of challenging imaging conditions, such as 3D sample structures, specimen motion, low signal to noise ratio and activity-induced fluorescence fluctuations. Moreover, as the bespoke architecture encapsulated physical understanding of the imaging process, the internal NN configuration was no-longer a "black box", but provided physical insights on internal workings, which could influence future designs.  
        
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    • Baekcheon Seong,Woovin Kim,Younghun Kim,Kyung-A Hyun,Hyo-Il Jung,Jong-Seok Lee,Jeonghoon Yoo,Chulmin Joo
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2610-2623(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01300-5
      Abstract:Several image-based biomedical diagnoses require high-resolution imaging capabilities at large spatial scales. However, conventional microscopes exhibit an inherent trade-off between depth-of-field (DoF) and spatial resolution, and thus require objects to be refocused at each lateral location, which is time consuming. Here, we present a computational imaging platform, termed E2E-BPF microscope, which enables large-area, high-resolution imaging of large-scale objects without serial refocusing. This method involves a physics-incorporated, deep-learned design of binary phase filter (BPF) and jointly optimized deconvolution neural network, which altogether produces high-resolution, high-contrast images over extended depth ranges. We demonstrate the method through numerical simulations and experiments with fluorescently labeled beads, cells and tissue section, and present high-resolution imaging capability over a 15.5-fold larger DoF than the conventional microscope. Our method provides highly effective and scalable strategy for DoF-extended optical imaging system, and is expected to find numerous applications in rapid image-based diagnosis, optical vision, and metrology.  
        
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    • Ahmed E. Salih,Haider Butt
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2624-2635(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01304-1
      Abstract:Smart contact lenses have recently gained traction due to their functionalization as noninvasive diagnostic and therapeutic wearables that can address several ocular diseases. Herein, multifunctional contact lenses exhibiting UV-transition and temperature-responsive capabilities were developed utilizing chromogenic materials that were integrated simultaneously into poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) contact lenses. The functionalities of the contact lenses were optically evaluated in both their activated and non-activated states. Transition contact lenses offered excellent UV and blue light blocking capabilities (~45%) at their inactive states. When activated via UV exposure, the transparent lenses darkened instantaneously and absorbed portions of the visible light spectrum. The absorption intensity and transient discoloration of the transition lenses relied primarily on the utilized photochromic material. Likewise, the temperature-responsive contact lenses exhibited distinct colorimetric variations in response to temperature changes within the physiological range (33–38 ℃). The maximum sensitivity of the thermochromic lens was 8% transmitted light per Celsius degree shift. Physiochemical and morphological analysis indicated the adequacy of the contact lenses. Hence, the multifunctional contact lenses can be deployed as smart wearables to manage ophthalmic deficiencies that are deterred by UV radiations and variations in ocular surface temperature.  
        
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    • Alim Abdurahman,Li Shen,Jingmin Wang,Meiling Niu,Ping Li,Qiming Peng,Jianpu Wang,Geyu Lu
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2636-2643(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01314-z
      Abstract:Developing open-shell singlet (OS) diradicals with high luminescent properties and exceptional single-molecule magnetoluminescence (ML) performance is extremely challenging. Herein, we propose a concept to enhance luminescent efficiency by adjusting the donor conjugation of OS diradicals, thereby achieving a highly luminescent diradical, DR1, with outstanding stability and making it a viable option for use in the emitting layer of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). More importantly, the 0.5 wt%-DR1 doped film demonstrates significant single-molecule magnetoluminescence (ML) properties. A giant ML value of 210% is achieved at a magnetic field of 7 T, showing the great potential of DR1 in magneto-optoelectronic devices.  
        
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    • Jiajie Chen,Zhi Chen,Changle Meng,Jianxing Zhou,Yuhang Peng,Xiaoqi Dai,Jingfeng Li,Yili Zhong,Xiaolin Chen,Wu Yuan,Ho-Pui Ho,Bruce Zhi Gao,Junle Qu,Xueji Zhang,Han Zhang,Yonghong Shao
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2644-2654(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01326-9
      Abstract:Optothermal nanotweezers have emerged as an innovative optical manipulation technique in the past decade, which revolutionized classical optical manipulation by efficiently capturing a broader range of nanoparticles. However, the optothermal temperature field was merely employed for in-situ manipulation of nanoparticles, its potential for identifying bio-nanoparticles remains largely untapped. Hence, based on the synergistic effect of optothermal manipulation and CRIPSR-based bio-detection, we developed CRISPR-powered optothermal nanotweezers (CRONT). Specifically, by harnessing diffusiophoresis and thermo-osmotic flows near the substrate upon optothermal excitation, we successfully trapped and enriched DNA functionalized gold nanoparticles, CRISPR-associated proteins, as well as DNA strands. Remarkably, we built an optothermal scheme for enhancing CRISPR-based single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection at single molecule level, while also introducing a novel CRISPR methodology for observing nucleotide cleavage. Therefore, this innovative approach has endowed optical tweezers with DNA identification ability in aqueous solution which was unattainable before. With its high specificity and feasibility for in-situ bio-nanoparticle manipulation and identification, CRONT will become a universal tool in point-of-care diagnosis, biophotonics, and bio-nanotechnology.  
        
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    • Xiaohan Du,Camilo Florian,Craig B. Arnold
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2655-2667(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01303-2
      Abstract:Existing auto-focusing methods in laser processing typically include two independent modules, one for surface detection and another for $ z $-axis adjustment. The latter is mostly implemented by mechanical $ z $ stage motion, which is up to three orders of magnitude slower than the lateral processing speed. To alleviate this processing bottleneck, we developed a single-lens approach, using only one high-speed $ z $-scanning optical element, to accomplish both in situ surface detection and focus control quasi-simultaneously in a dual-beam setup. The probing beam scans the surface along the $ z $-axis continuously, and its reflection is detected by a set of confocal optics. Based on the temporal response of the detected signal, we have developed and experimentally demonstrated a dynamic surface detection method at 140–350 kHz, with a controlled detection range, high repeatability, and minimum linearity error of 1.10%. Sequentially, by synchronizing at a corresponding oscillation phase of the $ z $-scanning lens, the fabrication beam is directed to the probed $ z $ position for precise focus alignment. Overall, our approach provides instantaneous surface tracking by collecting position information and executing focal control both at 140–350 kHz, which significantly accelerates the axial alignment process and offers great potential for enhancing the speed of advanced manufacturing processes in three-dimensional space.  
        
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    • Hongwei Xu,Jingwei Liu,Sheng Wei,Jie Luo,Rui Gong,Siyuan Tian,Yiqi Yang,Yukun Lei,Xinman Chen,Jiahong Wang,Gaokuo Zhong,Yongbing Tang,Feng Wang,Hui-Ming Cheng,Baofu Ding
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2668-2676(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01327-8
      Abstract:Low-dimensional materials exhibit unique quantum confinement effects and morphologies as a result of their nanoscale size in one or more dimensions, making them exhibit distinctive physical properties compared to bulk counterparts. Among all low-dimensional materials, due to their atomic level thickness, two-dimensional materials possess extremely large shape anisotropy and consequently are speculated to have large optically anisotropic absorption. In this work, we demonstrate an optoelectronic device based on the combination of two-dimensional material and carbon dot with wide bandgap. High-efficient luminescence of carbon dot and extremely large shape anisotropy (> 1500) of two-dimensional material with the wide bandgap of > 4 eV cooperatively endow the optoelectronic device with multi-functions of optically anisotropic blue-light emission, visible light modulation, wavelength-dependent ultraviolet-light detection as well as blue fluorescent film assemble. This research opens new avenues for constructing multi-function-integrated optoelectronic devices via the combination of nanomaterials with different dimensions.  
        
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    • Chengyun Hong,Saejin Oh,Vu Khac Dat,Sangyeon Pak,SeungNam Cha,Kyung-Hun Ko,Gyung-Min Choi,Tony Low,Sang-Hyun Oh,Ji-Hee Kim
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2677-2687(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01308-x
      Abstract:Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layered semiconductors possess immense potential in the design of photonic, electronic, optoelectronic, and sensor devices. However, the sub-bandgap light absorption of TMD in the range from near-infrared (NIR) to short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) is insufficient for applications beyond the bandgap limit. Herein, we report that the sub-bandgap photoresponse of MoS2/Au heterostructures can be robustly modulated by the electrode fabrication method employed. We observed up to 60% sub-bandgap absorption in the MoS2/Au heterostructure, which includes the hybridized interface, where the Au layer was applied via sputter deposition. The greatly enhanced absorption of sub-bandgap light is due to the planar cavity formed by MoS2 and Au; as such, the absorption spectrum can be tuned by altering the thickness of the MoS2 layer. Photocurrent in the SWIR wavelength range increases due to increased absorption, which means that broad wavelength detection from visible toward SWIR is possible. We also achieved rapid photoresponse (~150 µs) and high responsivity (17 mA W−1) at an excitation wavelength of 1550 nm. Our findings demonstrate a facile method for optical property modulation using metal electrode engineering and for realizing SWIR photodetection in wide-bandgap 2D materials.  
        
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    • Inhong Kim,Ga Eul Choi,Ming Mei,Min Woo Kim,Minju Kim,Young Woo Kwon,Tae-In Jeong,Seungchul Kim,Suck Won Hong,Kwangseuk Kyhm,Robert A. Taylor
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2688-2699(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01313-0
      Abstract:Optical gain enhancement of two-dimensional CsPbBr3 nanosheets was studied when the amplified spontaneous emission is guided by a patterned structure of polyurethane-acrylate. Given the uncertainties and pitfalls in retrieving a gain coefficient from the variable stripe length method, a gain contour $ g(\hslash \omega , x) $ was obtained in the plane of spectrum energy (ℏω) and stripe length (x), whereby an average gain was obtained, and gain saturation was analysed. Excitation and temperature dependence of the gain contour show that the waveguide enhances both gain and thermal stability due to the increased optical confinement and heat dissipation, and the gain origins were attributed to the two-dimensional excitons and the localized states.  
        
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    • Junghoon Jahng,Sunho Lee,Seong-Gu Hong,Chang Jun Lee,Sergey G. Menabde,Min Seok Jang,Dong-Hyun Kim,Jangyup Son,Eun Seong Lee
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2700-2710(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01320-1
      Abstract:We, for the first time, report the nanoscopic imaging study of anomalous infrared (IR) phonon enhancement of bilayer graphene, originated from the charge imbalance between the top and bottom layers, resulting in the enhancement of E1u mode of bilayer graphene near 0.2 eV. We modified the multifrequency atomic force microscope platform to combine photo-induced force microscope with electrostatic/Kelvin probe force microscope constituting a novel hybrid nanoscale optical-electrical force imaging system. This enables to observe a correlation between the IR response, doping level, and topographic information of the graphene layers. Through the nanoscale spectroscopic image measurements, we demonstrate that the charge imbalance at the graphene interface can be controlled by chemical (doping effect via Redox mechanism) and mechanical (triboelectric effect by the doped cantilever) approaches. Moreover, we can also diagnosis the subsurface cracks on the stacked few-layer graphene at nanoscale, by monitoring the strain-induced IR phonon shift. Our approach provides new insights into the development of graphene-based electronic and photonic devices and their potential applications.  
        
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    • Yu-Chieh Lin,Katsumi Midorikawa,Yasuo Nabekawa
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2711-2722(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01328-7
      Abstract:The carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of an ultrashort laser pulse is becoming more crucial to specify the temporal characteristic of the pulse's electric field when the pulse duration becomes shorter and attains the subcycle regime; here, the pulse duration of the intensity envelope is shorter than one cycle period of the carrier field oscillation. When this subcycle pulse involves a structured wavefront as is contained in an optical vortex (OV) pulse, the CEP has an impact on not only the temporal but also the spatial characteristics owing to the spatiotemporal coupling in the structured optical pulse. However, the direct observation of the spatial effect of the CEP control has not yet been demonstrated. In this study, we report on the measurement and control of the spatial wavefront of a subcycle OV pulse by adjusting the CEP. To generate subcycle OV pulses, an optical parametric amplifier delivering subcycle Gaussian pulses and a Sagnac interferometer as a mode converter were integrated and provided an adequate spectral adaptability. The pulse duration of the generated OV pulse was 4.7 fs at a carrier wavelength of 1.54 µm. To confirm the wavefront control with the alteration of the CEP, we developed a novel $ f $-2$ f $ interferometer that exhibited spiral fringes originating from the spatial interference between the subcycle OV pulse and the second harmonic of the subcycle Gaussian pulse producing a parabolic wavefront as a reference; this resulted in the successful observation of the rotation of spiral interference fringes during CEP manipulation.  
        
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    • Jiahao Xiong,Zhi-Hong Zhang,Zile Li,Peixia Zheng,Jiaxin Li,Xuan Zhang,Zihan Gao,Zhipeng Wei,Guoxing Zheng,Shuang-Peng Wang,Hong-Chao Liu
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2723-2731(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01311-2
      Abstract:Highly efficient multi-dimensional data storage and extraction are two primary ends for the design and fabrication of emerging optical materials. Although metasurfaces show great potential in information storage due to their modulation for different degrees of freedom of light, a compact and efficient detector for relevant multi-dimensional data retrieval is still a challenge, especially in complex environments. Here, we demonstrate a multi-dimensional image storage and retrieval process by using a dual-color metasurface and a double-layer integrated perovskite single-pixel detector (DIP-SPD). Benefitting from the photoelectric response characteristics of the FAPbBr2.4I0.6 and FAPbI3 films and their stacked structure, our filter-free DIP-SPD can accurately reconstruct different colorful images stored in a metasurface within a single-round measurement, even in complex environments with scattering media or strong background noise. Our work not only provides a compact, filter-free, and noise-robust detector for colorful image extraction in a metasurface, but also paves the way for color imaging application of perovskite-like bandgap tunable materials.  
        
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    • Chen Chen,Xingjian Xiao,Xin Ye,Jiacheng Sun,Jitao Ji,Rongtao Yu,Wange Song,Shining Zhu,Tao Li
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2732-2741(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01337-6
      Abstract:Polarimetry plays an indispensable role in modern optics. Nevertheless, the current strategies generally suffer from bulky system volume or spatial multiplexing scheme, resulting in limited performances when dealing with inhomogeneous polarizations. Here, we propose a non-interleaved, interferometric method to analyze the polarizations based on a tri-channel chiral metasurface. A deep convolutional neural network is also incorporated to enable fast, robust and accurate polarimetry. Spatially uniform and nonuniform polarizations are both measured through the metasurface experimentally. Distinction between two semblable glasses is also demonstrated. Our strategy features the merits of compactness and high spatial resolution, and would inspire more intriguing design for detecting and sensing.  
        
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    • Shitao Shen,Haoqiang Feng,Yueming Deng,Shuting Xie,Zichuan Yi,Mingliang Jin,Guofu Zhou,Paul Mulvaney,Lingling Shui
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2742-2754(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01333-w
      Abstract:Reflective displays have stimulated considerable interest because of their friendly readability and low energy consumption. Herein, we develop a reflective display technique via an electro-microfluidic assembly of particles (eMAP) strategy whereby colored particles assemble into annular and planar structures inside a dyed water droplet to create "open" and "closed" states of a display pixel. Water-in-oil droplets are compressed within microwells to form a pixel array. The particles dispersed in droplets are driven by deformation-strengthened dielectrophoretic force to achieve fast and reversible motion and assemble into multiple structures. This eMAP based device can display designed information in three primary colors with ≥170° viewing angle, ~0.14 s switching time, and bistability with an optimized material system. This proposed technique demonstrates the basis of a high-performance and energy-saving reflective display, and the display speed and color quality could be further improved by structure and material optimization; exhibiting a potential reflective display technology.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Shilv Yu,Peng Zhou,Wang Xi,Zihe Chen,Yuheng Deng,Xiaobing Luo,Wangnan Li,Junichiro Shiomi,Run Hu
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2755-2767(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01341-w
      Abstract:Wavelength-selective thermal emitters (WS-TEs) have been frequently designed to achieve desired target emissivity spectra, as a typical emissivity engineering, for broad applications such as thermal camouflage, radiative cooling, and gas sensing, etc. However, previous designs require prior knowledge of materials or structures for different applications and the designed WS-TEs usually vary from applications to applications in terms of materials and structures, thus lacking of a general design framework for emissivity engineering across different applications. Moreover, previous designs fail to tackle the simultaneous design of both materials and structures, as they either fix materials to design structures or fix structures to select suitable materials. Herein, we employ the deep Q-learning network algorithm, a reinforcement learning method based on deep learning framework, to design multilayer WS-TEs. To demonstrate the general validity, three WS-TEs are designed for various applications, including thermal camouflage, radiative cooling and gas sensing, which are then fabricated and measured. The merits of the deep Q-learning algorithm include that it can (1) offer a general design framework for WS-TEs beyond one-dimensional multilayer structures; (2) autonomously select suitable materials from a self-built material library and (3) autonomously optimize structural parameters for the target emissivity spectra. The present framework is demonstrated to be feasible and efficient in designing WS-TEs across different applications, and the design parameters are highly scalable in materials, structures, dimensions, and the target functions, offering a general framework for emissivity engineering and paving the way for efficient design of nonlinear optimization problems beyond thermal metamaterials.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Chaoyang Gong,Xi Yang,Shui-Jing Tang,Qian-Qian Zhang,Yanqiong Wang,Yi-Ling Liu,Yu-Cheng Chen,Gang-Ding Peng,Xudong Fan,Yun-Feng Xiao,Yun-Jiang Rao,Yuan Gong
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2768-2777(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01335-8
      Abstract:Biomarker detection is key to identifying health risks. However, designing sensitive and single-use biosensors for early diagnosis remains a major challenge. Here, we report submonolayer lasers on optical fibers as ultrasensitive and disposable biosensors. Telecom optical fibers serve as distributed optical microcavities with high Q-factor, great repeatability, and ultralow cost, which enables whispering-gallery laser emission to detect biomarkers. It is found that the sensing performance strongly depends on the number of gain molecules. The submonolayer lasers obtained a six-order-of-magnitude improvement in the lower limit of detection (LOD) when compared to saturated monolayer lasers. We further achieve an ultrasensitive immunoassay for a Parkinson's disease biomarker, alpha-synuclein (α-syn), with a lower LOD of 0.32 pM in serum, which is three orders of magnitude lower than the α-syn concentration in the serum of Parkinson's disease patients. Our demonstration of submonolayer biolaser offers great potentials in high-throughput clinical diagnosis with ultimate sensitivity.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Marco Clementi,Edgars Nitiss,Junqiu Liu,Elena Durán-Valdeiglesias,Sofiane Belahsene,Hélène Debrégeas,Tobias J. Kippenberg,Camille-Sophie Brès
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2778-2787(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01329-6
      Abstract:Second-harmonic generation allows for coherently bridging distant regions of the optical spectrum, with applications ranging from laser technology to self-referencing of frequency combs. However, accessing the nonlinear response of a medium typically requires high-power bulk sources, specific nonlinear crystals, and complex optical setups, hindering the path toward large-scale integration. Here we address all of these issues by engineering a chip-scale second-harmonic (SH) source based on the frequency doubling of a semiconductor laser self-injection-locked to a silicon nitride microresonator. The injection-locking mechanism, combined with a high-Q microresonator, results in an ultra-narrow intrinsic linewidth at the fundamental harmonic frequency as small as 41 Hz. Owing to the extreme resonant field enhancement, quasi-phase-matched second-order nonlinearity is photoinduced through the coherent photogalvanic effect and the high coherence is mapped on the generated SH field. We show how such optical poling technique can be engineered to provide efficient SH generation across the whole C and L telecom bands, in a reconfigurable fashion, overcoming the need for poling electrodes. Our device operates with milliwatt-level pumping and outputs SH power exceeding 2 mW, for an efficiency as high as 280%/W under electrical driving. Our findings suggest that standalone, highly-coherent, and efficient SH sources can be integrated in current silicon nitride photonics, unlocking the potential of χ(2) processes in the next generation of integrated photonic devices.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Yunle Wei,Jiangbo Zhao,Sindy Fuhrmann,Roman Sajzew,Lothar Wondraczek,Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2788-2801(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01324-x
      Abstract:Silicate glasses with metallic nanoparticles (NPs) have been of intense interest in art, science and technology as the plasmonic properties of these NPs equip glass with light modulation capability. The so-called striking technique has enabled precise control of the in situ formation of metallic NPs in silicate glasses for applications from coloured glasses to photonic devices. Since tellurite glasses exhibit the unique combination of comparably easy fabrication, low phonon energy, wide transmission window and high solubility of luminescent rare earth ions, there has been a significant amount of work over the past two decades to adapt the striking technique to form gold or silver NPs in tellurite glasses. Despite this effort, the striking technique has remained insufficient for tellurite glasses to form metal NPs suitable for photonic applications. Here, we first uncover the challenges of the traditional striking technique to create gold NPs in tellurite glass. Then, we demonstrate precise control of the size and concentration of gold NPs in tellurite glass by developing new approaches to both steps of the striking technique: a controlled gold crucible corrosion technique to incorporate gold ions in tellurite glass and a glass powder reheating technique to subsequently transform the gold ions to gold NPs. Using the Mie theory, the size, size distribution and concentration of the gold NPs formed in tellurite glass are determined from the plasmonic properties of the NPs. This fundamental research provides guidance for designing and manipulating the plasmonic properties in tellurite glass for photonics research and applications.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Zhe Li,Xin-Yuan Zhang,Rundong Ma,Tong Fu,Yan Zeng,Chong Hu,Yufeng Cheng,Cheng Wang,Yun Wang,Yuhua Feng,Takashi Taniguchi,Kenji Watanabe,Ti Wang,Xiaoze Liu,Hongxing Xu
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2802-2810(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01338-5
      Abstract:Various exciton species in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as neutral excitons, trions (charged excitons), dark excitons, and biexcitons, have been individually discovered with distinct light-matter interactions. In terms of valley-spin locked band structures and electron-hole configurations, these exciton species demonstrate flexible control of emission light with degrees of freedom (DOFs) such as intensity, polarization, frequency, and dynamics. However, it remains elusive to fully manipulate different exciton species on demand for practical photonic applications. Here, we investigate the contrasting light-matter interactions to control multiple DOFs of emission light in a hybrid monolayer WSe2-Ag nanowire (NW) structure by taking advantage of various exciton species. These excitons, including trions, dark excitons, and biexcitons, are found to couple independently with propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) of Ag NW in quite different ways, thanks to the orientations of transition dipoles. Consistent with the simulations, the dark excitons and dark trions show extremely high coupling efficiency with SPPs, while the trions demonstrate directional chiral-coupling features. This study presents a crucial step towards the ultimate goal of exploiting the comprehensive spectrum of TMD excitons for optical information processing and quantum optics.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Junhan Zhao,Xiyue Wang,Junyou Zhu,Chijioke Chukwudi,Andrew Finebaum,Jun Zhang,Sen Yang,Shijie He,Nima Saeidi
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2811-2825(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01296-y
      Abstract:Organoid models have provided a powerful platform for mechanistic investigations into fundamental biological processes involved in the development and function of organs. Despite the potential for image-based phenotypic quantification of organoids, their complex 3D structure, and the time-consuming and labor-intensive nature of immunofluorescent staining present significant challenges. In this work, we developed a virtual painting system, PhaseFIT (phase-fluorescent image transformation) utilizing customized and morphologically rich 2.5D intestinal organoids, which generate virtual fluorescent images for phenotypic quantification via accessible and low-cost organoid phase images. This system is driven by a novel segmentation-informed deep generative model that specializes in segmenting overlap and proximity between objects. The model enables an annotation-free digital transformation from phase-contrast to multi-channel fluorescent images. The virtual painting results of nuclei, secretory cell markers, and stem cells demonstrate that PhaseFIT outperforms the existing deep learning-based stain transformation models by generating fine-grained visual content. We further validated the efficiency and accuracy of PhaseFIT to quantify the impacts of three compounds on crypt formation, cell population, and cell stemness. PhaseFIT is the first deep learning-enabled virtual painting system focused on live organoids, enabling large-scale, informative, and efficient organoid phenotypic quantification. PhaseFIT would enable the use of organoids in high-throughput drug screening applications.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
    • Weisong Zhao,Xiaoshuai Huang,Jianyu Yang,Liying Qu,Guohua Qiu,Yue Zhao,Xinwei Wang,Deer Su,Xumin Ding,Heng Mao,Yaming Jiu,Ying Hu,Jiubin Tan,Shiqun Zhao,Leiting Pan,Liangyi Chen,Haoyu Li
      Vol. 12, Issue 12, Pages: 2826-2844(2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01321-0
      Abstract:In fluorescence microscopy, computational algorithms have been developed to suppress noise, enhance contrast, and even enable super-resolution (SR). However, the local quality of the images may vary on multiple scales, and these differences can lead to misconceptions. Current mapping methods fail to finely estimate the local quality, challenging to associate the SR scale content. Here, we develop a rolling Fourier ring correlation (rFRC) method to evaluate the reconstruction uncertainties down to SR scale. To visually pinpoint regions with low reliability, a filtered rFRC is combined with a modified resolution-scaled error map (RSM), offering a comprehensive and concise map for further examination. We demonstrate their performances on various SR imaging modalities, and the resulting quantitative maps enable better SR images integrated from different reconstructions. Overall, we expect that our framework can become a routinely used tool for biologists in assessing their image datasets in general and inspire further advances in the rapidly developing field of computational imaging.  
        
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      Published:2024-09-12
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