Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02217-5
Luc Thévenaz
A novel concept for distributed fiber sensing has recently been introduced, in which the sensing fiber itself forms a laser cavity. This configuration yields a high-quality response that is largely independent of position, thereby enhancing measurement accuracy and acquisition speed, and opening new avenues towards higher-performance sensing technologies.
{"title":"Towards lasing systems for distributed fibre sensing","authors":"Luc Thévenaz","doi":"10.1038/s41377-026-02217-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02217-5","url":null,"abstract":"A novel concept for distributed fiber sensing has recently been introduced, in which the sensing fiber itself forms a laser cavity. This configuration yields a high-quality response that is largely independent of position, thereby enhancing measurement accuracy and acquisition speed, and opening new avenues towards higher-performance sensing technologies.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"340 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Besides high porosity and controllable structure, metal-organic framework (MOF) has some natural advantages for color electrophoretic particles: easy modification, controllable morphology, low and adjustable density, and high charge density, as well as rich, vivid, and stable colors. Therefore, we first integrated the four colored MOF microparticles and polyelectrolytes into the blue, reddish-brown, green, and purple electrophoretic particles to construct the two-color stable dispersions in nonpolar isododecane as the electrophoretic inks. Here, the surface modification of polyethyleneimine (PEI) chains based on non-covalent interaction rendered these MOF microparticles fully reinforced to ~+30 mV in Zeta potential and over 3.6 × 10 −10 m 2 V −1 s −1 in the electrophoretic mobility. Under the ultralow field strength of 0.02 V μm −1 , all the response time and recovery time were no more than 2.3 and 5.9 s, respectively. Even after long-time or multiple driving, these MOF microparticles and their reflectance value still remained constant to some extent. By comparison, these colored PEI-reinforced MOF microparticles are superior to the other organic color pigments and inorganic particles, in response capability, charge-to-mass ratio, preparation method, production cost, and stability in color, particle, and display. It is anticipated to provide an innovative and promising technical path for color electrophoresis display.
金属有机骨架（MOF）除了具有高孔隙率和结构可控外，还具有易于修饰、形态可控、密度低可调、电荷密度高、色彩丰富、生动、稳定等天然优势。因此，我们首先将四种颜色的MOF微粒子和聚电解质整合到蓝色、红棕色、绿色和紫色的电泳粒子中，构建了非极性异十二烷中稳定的双色分散体作为电泳油墨。在这里，基于非共价相互作用的聚乙烯亚胺（PEI）链的表面修饰使这些MOF微粒的Zeta电位完全增强到~+30 mV，电泳迁移率超过3.6 × 10−10 m 2 V−1 s−1。在0.02 V μm−1的超低场强下，响应时间不超过2.3 s，恢复时间不超过5.9 s。即使经过长时间或多次驱动，这些MOF微粒及其反射率值仍在一定程度上保持不变。通过对比，这些彩色pei增强MOF微粒在响应能力、电荷质量比、制备方法、生产成本以及颜色、颗粒和显示稳定性等方面均优于其他有机彩色颜料和无机微粒。为彩色电泳显示提供了一条具有创新意义和发展前景的技术途径。
{"title":"Colored polymer-reinforced metal-organic framework microparticles with high charge-to-mass ratio for electrophoretic display","authors":"Jiamin Cheng, Mian Qin, Wenhao Wang, Jingxing Zhang, Yao Wang, Pengfei Bai, Hao Li, Guofu Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-02095-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-02095-3","url":null,"abstract":"Besides high porosity and controllable structure, metal-organic framework (MOF) has some natural advantages for color electrophoretic particles: easy modification, controllable morphology, low and adjustable density, and high charge density, as well as rich, vivid, and stable colors. Therefore, we first integrated the four colored MOF microparticles and polyelectrolytes into the blue, reddish-brown, green, and purple electrophoretic particles to construct the two-color stable dispersions in nonpolar isododecane as the electrophoretic inks. Here, the surface modification of polyethyleneimine (PEI) chains based on non-covalent interaction rendered these MOF microparticles fully reinforced to ~+30 mV in Zeta potential and over 3.6 × 10 <jats:sup>−10</jats:sup> m <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> V <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> s <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> in the electrophoretic mobility. Under the ultralow field strength of 0.02 V μm <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> , all the response time and recovery time were no more than 2.3 and 5.9 s, respectively. Even after long-time or multiple driving, these MOF microparticles and their reflectance value still remained constant to some extent. By comparison, these colored PEI-reinforced MOF microparticles are superior to the other organic color pigments and inorganic particles, in response capability, charge-to-mass ratio, preparation method, production cost, and stability in color, particle, and display. It is anticipated to provide an innovative and promising technical path for color electrophoresis display.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02225-5
Haoran Zhang, Jian Li, Haotao Zhu
A versatile coherent Ising machine platform based on degenerate optical parametric oscillators has emerged as a powerful approach for solving NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems across diverse applications. Recent work demonstrated breakthroughs using femtosecond laser pumping, achieving a 55% success rate for 100-vertex Max-Cut problems with stable performance maintained for over 8 h. This versatile platform supports fully connected problem mapping and has been successfully validated across multiple domains including molecular docking and credit scoring, substantiating the practical potential of optical approaches for large-scale optimization and paving the way for broad integration into industrial applications.
{"title":"A versatile large-scale coherent Ising machine from microwave to visible and telecom wavelength bands","authors":"Haoran Zhang, Jian Li, Haotao Zhu","doi":"10.1038/s41377-026-02225-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02225-5","url":null,"abstract":"A versatile coherent Ising machine platform based on degenerate optical parametric oscillators has emerged as a powerful approach for solving NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems across diverse applications. Recent work demonstrated breakthroughs using femtosecond laser pumping, achieving a 55% success rate for 100-vertex Max-Cut problems with stable performance maintained for over 8 h. This versatile platform supports fully connected problem mapping and has been successfully validated across multiple domains including molecular docking and credit scoring, substantiating the practical potential of optical approaches for large-scale optimization and paving the way for broad integration into industrial applications.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02218-4
Colton McGarraugh, Soon-Woo Cho, Junjie Yao
By combining mid-infrared excitation with polarization-resolved photoacoustics, Park et al. introduce a novel label-free approach to visualize both molecular composition and fiber alignment in engineered tissues. This dual-contrast framework, termed MIR-DS-PAM, offers a new path toward analytical, quantitative histopathology.
{"title":"Revealing hidden tissue architecture with mid-infrared dichroism photoacoustic microscopy","authors":"Colton McGarraugh, Soon-Woo Cho, Junjie Yao","doi":"10.1038/s41377-026-02218-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02218-4","url":null,"abstract":"By combining mid-infrared excitation with polarization-resolved photoacoustics, Park et al. introduce a novel label-free approach to visualize both molecular composition and fiber alignment in engineered tissues. This dual-contrast framework, termed MIR-DS-PAM, offers a new path toward analytical, quantitative histopathology.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"294 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-24DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-02061-z
Eslam M. B. Fahmy, Zhongtao Ouyang, Davide Colucci, Nicolas Le Thomas, Joris Van Campenhout, Bernardette Kunert, Dries Van Thourhout
The epitaxial growth of high-quality InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridges on silicon using aspect ratio trapping (ART) and nano-ridge engineering (NRE) has paved the way for the monolithic integration of laser sources on silicon. This breakthrough holds significant potential for integrated silicon photonics, enabling a wide range of applications and opening new research avenues. In this approach, the active material is grown not as a uniform layer but rather as parallel nano-ridge (NR) arrays. Leveraging this intrinsic feature of NRE, we propose a novel approach for realizing a surface-emitting laser and present the first experimental demonstration of this device. The device consists of an array of nano-ridges forming an in-plane cavity that can lase and couple light vertically. Based on an extensive design study, we demonstrate an optically pumped surface-emitting epitaxially grown nano-ridge laser (NRSEL) integrated on a 300 mm silicon wafer, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind. We experimentally show lasing at the band edge of a photonic crystal by exploiting symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (BICs). Additionally, we thoroughly characterize the far-field pattern. These findings lay the foundation for realizing high-density, integrated, and cost-effective electrically injected surface-emitting lasers on silicon.
{"title":"One-dimensional photonic crystal nano-ridge surface emitting lasers epitaxially grown on a standard 300 mm silicon wafer","authors":"Eslam M. B. Fahmy, Zhongtao Ouyang, Davide Colucci, Nicolas Le Thomas, Joris Van Campenhout, Bernardette Kunert, Dries Van Thourhout","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-02061-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-02061-z","url":null,"abstract":"The epitaxial growth of high-quality InGaAs/GaAs nano-ridges on silicon using aspect ratio trapping (ART) and nano-ridge engineering (NRE) has paved the way for the monolithic integration of laser sources on silicon. This breakthrough holds significant potential for integrated silicon photonics, enabling a wide range of applications and opening new research avenues. In this approach, the active material is grown not as a uniform layer but rather as parallel nano-ridge (NR) arrays. Leveraging this intrinsic feature of NRE, we propose a novel approach for realizing a surface-emitting laser and present the first experimental demonstration of this device. The device consists of an array of nano-ridges forming an in-plane cavity that can lase and couple light vertically. Based on an extensive design study, we demonstrate an optically pumped surface-emitting epitaxially grown nano-ridge laser (NRSEL) integrated on a 300 mm silicon wafer, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind. We experimentally show lasing at the band edge of a photonic crystal by exploiting symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (BICs). Additionally, we thoroughly characterize the far-field pattern. These findings lay the foundation for realizing high-density, integrated, and cost-effective electrically injected surface-emitting lasers on silicon.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147278569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical information encryption technology, with its advantages such as high-dimensional encryption characteristics and resistance to quantum computing decryption, has demonstrated unique application value in fields like military, communication, and commercial confidential information protection. However, current optical encryption technologies still face challenges such as limited information capacity and security protection bottlenecks due to discrete state switching mechanisms, as well as potential risks of information residual leakage. Here, we propose a continuously tunable time-programmable coloration encryption strategy enabled by three-dimensional metastructures, featuring wide color gamut spectral continuous tuning through the control of the environmental refractive index. Moreover, by innovatively inducing irreversible collapse of nanopillars through capillary forces, the encryption carrier is endowed with physical self-destruction characteristics, thereby enabling “burn after reading” of the encrypted information. As a proof of concept, we demonstrated time-programmable information encryption and self-destruction after reading within a single device, enabled by continuous spectral modulation across the visible wavelength range. This technology provides an innovative solution for dynamic response in information encryption and secure information destruction, showing significant application potential in high-security scenarios such as military confidential transmissions and high-end commercial anti-counterfeiting.
{"title":"Time-programmable coloration via 3D metastructures for optical encryption","authors":"Ming-Ze Zhao, Zhi-Yong Hu, Yi-Han Tao, Ze-Xin Zhou, Li-Jun He, Zhen-Nan Tian, Xue-Qing Liu, Qi-Dai Chen, Din Ping Tsai","doi":"10.1038/s41377-026-02202-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02202-y","url":null,"abstract":"Optical information encryption technology, with its advantages such as high-dimensional encryption characteristics and resistance to quantum computing decryption, has demonstrated unique application value in fields like military, communication, and commercial confidential information protection. However, current optical encryption technologies still face challenges such as limited information capacity and security protection bottlenecks due to discrete state switching mechanisms, as well as potential risks of information residual leakage. Here, we propose a continuously tunable time-programmable coloration encryption strategy enabled by three-dimensional metastructures, featuring wide color gamut spectral continuous tuning through the control of the environmental refractive index. Moreover, by innovatively inducing irreversible collapse of nanopillars through capillary forces, the encryption carrier is endowed with physical self-destruction characteristics, thereby enabling “burn after reading” of the encrypted information. As a proof of concept, we demonstrated time-programmable information encryption and self-destruction after reading within a single device, enabled by continuous spectral modulation across the visible wavelength range. This technology provides an innovative solution for dynamic response in information encryption and secure information destruction, showing significant application potential in high-security scenarios such as military confidential transmissions and high-end commercial anti-counterfeiting.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"322 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146223209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-18DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-02147-8
Nicolas Englebert, Corentin Simon, Carlos Mas Arabí, François Leo, Simon-Pierre Gorza
Temporal cavity solitons are ultrashort optical pulses circulating in driven Kerr resonators. Their intrinsic stability and ability to generate coherent broadband frequency combs have led to breakthroughs in fields such as sensing, metrology, and signal synthesis. However, this robustness limits control over soliton dynamics and constrains comb characteristics. Here, we demonstrate that stationary and moving trapping potentials, generated through intracavity phase modulation, provide unprecedented control over cavity soliton properties. We theoretically show that, for deep potentials, the soliton spectral shift and repetition rate tuning range are primarily limited by a Hopf bifurcation, and reveal the role of dissipation in soliton dynamics. Using a fibre resonator, we observe stable blue- and red-shifted solitons up to 0.4 times their spectral width, at least an order of magnitude larger than with external phase modulation of the drive. We also investigate the interplay between the trapping potential and stimulated Raman scattering, showing that Raman self-frequency shift can be fully compensated, extending the existence range of cavity solitons. Our results provide a new means for stabilising or rapidly tuning the repetition rate of Kerr combs over a wide range, broadening the applications of Kerr frequency combs.
{"title":"Dynamics of driven dissipative temporal solitons in an intracavity phase trap","authors":"Nicolas Englebert, Corentin Simon, Carlos Mas Arabí, François Leo, Simon-Pierre Gorza","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-02147-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-02147-8","url":null,"abstract":"Temporal cavity solitons are ultrashort optical pulses circulating in driven Kerr resonators. Their intrinsic stability and ability to generate coherent broadband frequency combs have led to breakthroughs in fields such as sensing, metrology, and signal synthesis. However, this robustness limits control over soliton dynamics and constrains comb characteristics. Here, we demonstrate that stationary and moving trapping potentials, generated through intracavity phase modulation, provide unprecedented control over cavity soliton properties. We theoretically show that, for deep potentials, the soliton spectral shift and repetition rate tuning range are primarily limited by a Hopf bifurcation, and reveal the role of dissipation in soliton dynamics. Using a fibre resonator, we observe stable blue- and red-shifted solitons up to 0.4 times their spectral width, at least an order of magnitude larger than with external phase modulation of the drive. We also investigate the interplay between the trapping potential and stimulated Raman scattering, showing that Raman self-frequency shift can be fully compensated, extending the existence range of cavity solitons. Our results provide a new means for stabilising or rapidly tuning the repetition rate of Kerr combs over a wide range, broadening the applications of Kerr frequency combs.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146210098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-17DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02196-7
Kaiyuan Zheng, Hanyu Liao, Fengbo Han, Xueying Wang, Yan Zhang, Jiaxin Gu, Pengcheng Zhao, Haihong Bao, Shaoliang Yu, Qingyang Du, Lei Liang, Chuantao Zheng, Wei Jin, Lijun Wang
On-chip waveguide sensors have attracted significant attention recently due to their potential for high-level integration. However, so far, on-chip gas sensing based on traditional laser absorption spectroscopy has demonstrated low detection sensitivity, due to weak light-gas interaction over a limited interaction distance. On-chip photothermal spectroscopy (PTS) appears to be a powerful technique to achieve higher sensitivity; its performance is yet constrained to parts-per-million (ppm)-level due to a small fraction of evanescent field in the light-gas interaction zone and fast thermal dissipation through the solid substrate. Herein, we demonstrated suspended chalcogenide glass waveguide (ChGW)-enhanced PTS that overcomes these limitations, enabling highly sensitive parts-per-billion (ppb)-level molecular gas sensing. We fabricated a nanoscale suspended ChGW with a low loss of 2.6 dB/cm using a CMOS-compatible two-step patterning process. By establishing an equivalent PTS model to guide the optimization of the ChGW geometry, we achieved a 4-fold increase in the absorption-induced heat source power and a 10.6-fold decrease in the equivalent heat conductivity, resulting in a 45-fold enhancement in photothermal phase modulation efficiency over the non-suspended waveguides. Combining with a high-contrast waveguide facet-formed Fabry-Perot interferometer, we achieved an unprecedented acetylene detection limit of 330 ppb, a large dynamic range close to 6 orders of magnitude, and a fast response of less than 1 s. The overall system exhibits a noise-equivalent absorption coefficient of 3.8×10 −7 cm −1 , setting a new benchmark for photonic waveguide gas sensors to the best of our knowledge. This work provides a key advancement towards prototyping an integrated sensor-on-a-chip for highly sensitive and background-free photonic sensing applications.
{"title":"Suspended waveguide-enhanced near-infrared photothermal spectroscopy for ppb-level molecular gas sensing on a chalcogenide chip","authors":"Kaiyuan Zheng, Hanyu Liao, Fengbo Han, Xueying Wang, Yan Zhang, Jiaxin Gu, Pengcheng Zhao, Haihong Bao, Shaoliang Yu, Qingyang Du, Lei Liang, Chuantao Zheng, Wei Jin, Lijun Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41377-026-02196-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02196-7","url":null,"abstract":"On-chip waveguide sensors have attracted significant attention recently due to their potential for high-level integration. However, so far, on-chip gas sensing based on traditional laser absorption spectroscopy has demonstrated low detection sensitivity, due to weak light-gas interaction over a limited interaction distance. On-chip photothermal spectroscopy (PTS) appears to be a powerful technique to achieve higher sensitivity; its performance is yet constrained to parts-per-million (ppm)-level due to a small fraction of evanescent field in the light-gas interaction zone and fast thermal dissipation through the solid substrate. Herein, we demonstrated suspended chalcogenide glass waveguide (ChGW)-enhanced PTS that overcomes these limitations, enabling highly sensitive parts-per-billion (ppb)-level molecular gas sensing. We fabricated a nanoscale suspended ChGW with a low loss of 2.6 dB/cm using a CMOS-compatible two-step patterning process. By establishing an equivalent PTS model to guide the optimization of the ChGW geometry, we achieved a 4-fold increase in the absorption-induced heat source power and a 10.6-fold decrease in the equivalent heat conductivity, resulting in a 45-fold enhancement in photothermal phase modulation efficiency over the non-suspended waveguides. Combining with a high-contrast waveguide facet-formed Fabry-Perot interferometer, we achieved an unprecedented acetylene detection limit of 330 ppb, a large dynamic range close to 6 orders of magnitude, and a fast response of less than 1 s. The overall system exhibits a noise-equivalent absorption coefficient of 3.8×10 <jats:sup>−7</jats:sup> cm <jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> , setting a new benchmark for photonic waveguide gas sensors to the best of our knowledge. This work provides a key advancement towards prototyping an integrated sensor-on-a-chip for highly sensitive and background-free photonic sensing applications.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"326 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146204862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-02091-7
Jingbo Yin, Hao Luo, Tun Cao, Minghui Hong
Ultrafast lasers have garnered significant interest in the realm of surface nanofabrication. However, their dynamic electric field distribution is influenced by the polarization direction when pursuing high machining precision, which leads to high polarization dependence of laser nanostructuring. Here, polarization-independent surface nanostructuring is realized on Sb2S3 thin films by femtosecond laser irradiation via a microsphere in the far field and ambient air. The formation of nanogrooves is ascribed to surface thermal stress during melting, re-solidification, and super-cooling under high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser irradiation. The influence of materials melting and ablation on the electric field distribution during the laser processing is analyzed. In the molten state, the distribution of the electric field remains unaffected by polarization, enabling the realization of polarization-independent nanoprocessing based on the thermal stress induced by a temperature gradient. The feature sizes of surface nanostructures can be precisely adjusted by varying laser fluence, and the minimum size down to approximately 38 nm (λ/27) is achieved. This innovative laser nanostructuring technique, operating in the far field and ambient air, holds considerable promise for advancing next-generation nanofabrication.
{"title":"Polarization-independent surface nanostructuring by femtosecond laser irradiation via microsphere in far field and ambient air","authors":"Jingbo Yin, Hao Luo, Tun Cao, Minghui Hong","doi":"10.1038/s41377-025-02091-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-02091-7","url":null,"abstract":"Ultrafast lasers have garnered significant interest in the realm of surface nanofabrication. However, their dynamic electric field distribution is influenced by the polarization direction when pursuing high machining precision, which leads to high polarization dependence of laser nanostructuring. Here, polarization-independent surface nanostructuring is realized on Sb2S3 thin films by femtosecond laser irradiation via a microsphere in the far field and ambient air. The formation of nanogrooves is ascribed to surface thermal stress during melting, re-solidification, and super-cooling under high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser irradiation. The influence of materials melting and ablation on the electric field distribution during the laser processing is analyzed. In the molten state, the distribution of the electric field remains unaffected by polarization, enabling the realization of polarization-independent nanoprocessing based on the thermal stress induced by a temperature gradient. The feature sizes of surface nanostructures can be precisely adjusted by varying laser fluence, and the minimum size down to approximately 38 nm (λ/27) is achieved. This innovative laser nanostructuring technique, operating in the far field and ambient air, holds considerable promise for advancing next-generation nanofabrication.","PeriodicalId":18069,"journal":{"name":"Light-Science & Applications","volume":"240 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146152303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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