Pub Date : 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01851-0
Bahareh Marzban, Lucius Miller, Alexander Dikopoltsev, Mathieu Bertrand, Tobias Blatter, Laurenz Kulmer, Juerg Leuthold, Giacomo Scalari, Jérôme Faist
Optical frequency combs consist of evenly spaced single frequencies that are phase-locked to one another and are highly effective in applications such as optical spectroscopy, remote sensing and telecommunications. Integrated optical frequency combs hold great promise for a broader range of consumer technologies but face challenges in terms of stability, efficiency and controllability. Here we demonstrate a quantum walk comb in synthetic frequency space formed by externally modulating a semiconductor optical amplifier operating in the telecommunication wavelength range in a unidirectional ring cavity. Although interband active regions were generally considered to exhibit slow-gain dynamics, we show that the ultra-fast intraband component of the gain saturation is responsible for the stabilization of the comb in a broad frequency-modulated state. Compared with quantum walk combs previously demonstrated using a quantum cascade laser, our device benefits from the low thresholds associated with interband emission and demonstrates a wallplug efficiency of up to 6%. Our device produces a nearly flat broadband comb with a tunable repetition frequency reaching a bandwidth of 1.8 THz at the fundamental repetition rate of 1 GHz while remaining fully locked to the radio frequency drive. Comb operation at harmonics of the repetition rate up to 14.1 GHz is also demonstrated.
{"title":"A quantum walk comb source at telecommunication wavelengths","authors":"Bahareh Marzban, Lucius Miller, Alexander Dikopoltsev, Mathieu Bertrand, Tobias Blatter, Laurenz Kulmer, Juerg Leuthold, Giacomo Scalari, Jérôme Faist","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01851-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01851-0","url":null,"abstract":"Optical frequency combs consist of evenly spaced single frequencies that are phase-locked to one another and are highly effective in applications such as optical spectroscopy, remote sensing and telecommunications. Integrated optical frequency combs hold great promise for a broader range of consumer technologies but face challenges in terms of stability, efficiency and controllability. Here we demonstrate a quantum walk comb in synthetic frequency space formed by externally modulating a semiconductor optical amplifier operating in the telecommunication wavelength range in a unidirectional ring cavity. Although interband active regions were generally considered to exhibit slow-gain dynamics, we show that the ultra-fast intraband component of the gain saturation is responsible for the stabilization of the comb in a broad frequency-modulated state. Compared with quantum walk combs previously demonstrated using a quantum cascade laser, our device benefits from the low thresholds associated with interband emission and demonstrates a wallplug efficiency of up to 6%. Our device produces a nearly flat broadband comb with a tunable repetition frequency reaching a bandwidth of 1.8 THz at the fundamental repetition rate of 1 GHz while remaining fully locked to the radio frequency drive. Comb operation at harmonics of the repetition rate up to 14.1 GHz is also demonstrated.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147506120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01882-7
Samir Vartabi Kashanian, Frank Vollmer
Whispering-gallery-mode microlasers have emerged as powerful tools for label-free biosensing, yet their sensitivity has been limited to detecting nanoparticles larger than 10 nm. Here we demonstrate a plasmon-enhanced whispering-gallery-mode microlaser capable of detecting single atomic ions in solution, achieving unprecedented sensitivity. By integrating gold nanorods onto ytterbium-doped silica microspheres, we reduce the effective mode volume by approximately 1,000-fold and enhance the local electromagnetic field, amplifying the signal-to-noise ratio. The self-heterodyne detection of beatnote frequency shifts between split lasing modes enables the real-time monitoring of transient and permanent interactions of zinc (Zn2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) ions with nanorod sensing sites. We report peak sensitivities with beatnote shifts of 3.7 fm for Zn2+ and 7.2 fm for Cd2+, showcasing the potential of plasmon-enhanced whispering-gallery-mode microlasers for single-molecule and atomic-scale sensing applications, including in vivo probing.
{"title":"Single-atomic-ion detection with plasmon-enhanced whispering-gallery-mode microlasers","authors":"Samir Vartabi Kashanian, Frank Vollmer","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01882-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01882-7","url":null,"abstract":"Whispering-gallery-mode microlasers have emerged as powerful tools for label-free biosensing, yet their sensitivity has been limited to detecting nanoparticles larger than 10 nm. Here we demonstrate a plasmon-enhanced whispering-gallery-mode microlaser capable of detecting single atomic ions in solution, achieving unprecedented sensitivity. By integrating gold nanorods onto ytterbium-doped silica microspheres, we reduce the effective mode volume by approximately 1,000-fold and enhance the local electromagnetic field, amplifying the signal-to-noise ratio. The self-heterodyne detection of beatnote frequency shifts between split lasing modes enables the real-time monitoring of transient and permanent interactions of zinc (Zn2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) ions with nanorod sensing sites. We report peak sensitivities with beatnote shifts of 3.7 fm for Zn2+ and 7.2 fm for Cd2+, showcasing the potential of plasmon-enhanced whispering-gallery-mode microlasers for single-molecule and atomic-scale sensing applications, including in vivo probing.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147506122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
An inner-shell orbital clock transition 1S0 ↔ 4f135d6s2 (J = 2) in neutral ytterbium atoms has attracted much attention as a new optical frequency standard as well as a highly sensitive probe for several new physics phenomena, such as ultralight dark matter, violation of local Lorentz invariance, and a new Yukawa potential between electrons and neutrons. Here we demonstrate almost two-orders-of-magnitude improvement in precision spectroscopy over previous reports on this transition, achieved by trapping atoms in a three-dimensional magic-wavelength optical lattice. In particular, we successfully observe the coherent Rabi oscillation, the relaxation dynamics of the excited state and the interorbital Feshbach resonance. To highlight the high precision of our spectroscopy, we carry out precise isotope shift measurements between five stable bosonic isotopes well below 10-Hz uncertainties, successfully setting bounds for a hypothetical boson mediating a force between electrons and neutrons. These results open up the way for various new physics search experiments and a wide range of applications to quantum science with this clock transition.
{"title":"Orders-of-magnitude improvement in precision spectroscopy of an inner-shell orbital clock transition in neutral ytterbium","authors":"Taiki Ishiyama, Koki Ono, Hokuto Kawase, Tetsushi Takano, Reiji Asano, Ayaki Sunaga, Yasuhiro Yamamoto, Minoru Tanaka, Yoshiro Takahashi","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01857-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01857-8","url":null,"abstract":"An inner-shell orbital clock transition 1S0 ↔ 4f135d6s2 (J = 2) in neutral ytterbium atoms has attracted much attention as a new optical frequency standard as well as a highly sensitive probe for several new physics phenomena, such as ultralight dark matter, violation of local Lorentz invariance, and a new Yukawa potential between electrons and neutrons. Here we demonstrate almost two-orders-of-magnitude improvement in precision spectroscopy over previous reports on this transition, achieved by trapping atoms in a three-dimensional magic-wavelength optical lattice. In particular, we successfully observe the coherent Rabi oscillation, the relaxation dynamics of the excited state and the interorbital Feshbach resonance. To highlight the high precision of our spectroscopy, we carry out precise isotope shift measurements between five stable bosonic isotopes well below 10-Hz uncertainties, successfully setting bounds for a hypothetical boson mediating a force between electrons and neutrons. These results open up the way for various new physics search experiments and a wide range of applications to quantum science with this clock transition.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"401 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147496687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-19DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01873-8
Yvan Klaver, Randy te Morsche, Roel A. Botter, Batoul Hashemi, Bruno L. Segat Frare, Akhileshwar Mishra, Kaixuan Ye, Hamidu M. Mbonde, Pooya Torab Ahmadi, Niloofar Majidian Taleghani, Evan Jonker, Redlef B. G. Braamhaar, Ponnambalam Ravi Selvaganapathy, Peter Mascher, Peter J. M. van der Slot, Jonathan D. B. Bradley, David Marpaung
Seamlessly integrating stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a low-loss and mature photonic integration platform remains a complicated task. Virtually all current approaches fall short in simultaneously achieving strong SBS, low losses and technological scalability. Here we incorporate strong SBS into a standard silicon nitride platform by the simple deposition of a tellurium oxide layer, a commonly used material in acousto-optic modulators. In these heterogeneously integrated waveguides, we harness SBS interactions actuated by surface acoustic waves leading to more than two-orders-of-magnitude gain enhancement. Three applications of this platform are demonstrated: (1) a silicon-nitride-based Brillouin amplifier with 5-dB net optical gain, (2) a compact intermodal stimulated Brillouin laser capable of high-purity radio-frequency signal generation with a 7-Hz intrinsic linewidth and (3) a widely tunable microwave photonic notch filter with an ultranarrow linewidth of 2.2 MHz enabled by Brillouin-induced opacity. These advancements can unlock an array of new radio-frequency and optical technologies to be directly integrated in silicon nitride.
{"title":"Surface acoustic wave Brillouin photonics on a silicon nitride chip","authors":"Yvan Klaver, Randy te Morsche, Roel A. Botter, Batoul Hashemi, Bruno L. Segat Frare, Akhileshwar Mishra, Kaixuan Ye, Hamidu M. Mbonde, Pooya Torab Ahmadi, Niloofar Majidian Taleghani, Evan Jonker, Redlef B. G. Braamhaar, Ponnambalam Ravi Selvaganapathy, Peter Mascher, Peter J. M. van der Slot, Jonathan D. B. Bradley, David Marpaung","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01873-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01873-8","url":null,"abstract":"Seamlessly integrating stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a low-loss and mature photonic integration platform remains a complicated task. Virtually all current approaches fall short in simultaneously achieving strong SBS, low losses and technological scalability. Here we incorporate strong SBS into a standard silicon nitride platform by the simple deposition of a tellurium oxide layer, a commonly used material in acousto-optic modulators. In these heterogeneously integrated waveguides, we harness SBS interactions actuated by surface acoustic waves leading to more than two-orders-of-magnitude gain enhancement. Three applications of this platform are demonstrated: (1) a silicon-nitride-based Brillouin amplifier with 5-dB net optical gain, (2) a compact intermodal stimulated Brillouin laser capable of high-purity radio-frequency signal generation with a 7-Hz intrinsic linewidth and (3) a widely tunable microwave photonic notch filter with an ultranarrow linewidth of 2.2 MHz enabled by Brillouin-induced opacity. These advancements can unlock an array of new radio-frequency and optical technologies to be directly integrated in silicon nitride.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147496808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-19DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01878-3
Wan-Shan Shen (沈万姗), Li-Ming Xie (谢黎明), Wen-Long Fei (费文龙), Xin Gu (顾鑫), Ye Wang (王晔), Hua-Hui Li (李华辉), Wei-Zhi Liu (刘伟之), Yun-Jun Wang (王允军), Wen-Ming Su (苏文明), Ya-Kun Wang (王亚坤), Liang-Sheng Liao (廖良生)
Cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-free quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) are critical for next-generation, environment-friendly electroluminescent displays. However, Cd/Pb-free QD-LEDs remain severely limited in operational stability, particularly in the deep-blue region. For emission below 460 nm, the high hole injection barrier inhibits carrier balance, thus requiring high bias to reach practical levels of luminance. Here we develop a dipole-assisted strategy to enable long-range ordering and energy adjustment of ZnTeSe QDs—achieved via the surface reconstruction using 4-aminothiophenol—to reduce the hole barrier in the deep-blue region. The intramolecular dipole deriving from the aromatic-bridged amine and thiol moieties of 4-aminothiophenol ensures the ordering arrangement of QD films and reduces the energy between the vacuum and the Fermi level, leading to the upshift of both valence and conduction band without affecting the deep-blue emission. As a result, devices emit at 452 nm with a peak external quantum efficiency of 23.6% at luminance values of 800 cd m−2 and maintain an external quantum efficiency of 22% at 1,000 cd m−2. Moreover, our LEDs achieve a calculated operational half-lifetime exceeding 50,000 h at an initial luminance of 100 cd m−2. Our results establish a benchmark for eco-friendly QD-LEDs towards practical applications in display technologies.
无镉（Cd）和无铅（Pb）量子点发光二极管（qd - led）对于下一代环境友好型电致发光显示器至关重要。然而，无Cd/ pb的qd - led在工作稳定性方面仍然受到严重限制，特别是在深蓝色区域。对于低于460 nm的发射，高空穴注入阻挡抑制载流子平衡，因此需要高偏置才能达到实际的亮度水平。在这里，我们开发了一种偶极子辅助策略，通过使用4-氨基噻吩-进行表面重建来实现znese量子点的远程有序和能量调节，以减少深蓝区域的空穴势垒。分子内偶极子由4-氨基噻吩的芳香桥胺和硫醇部分产生，保证了QD薄膜的有序排列，减少了真空和费米能级之间的能量，导致价带和导带的上升，而不影响深蓝发射。结果表明，器件在452 nm发射时，在亮度值为800 cd m−2时的外量子效率峰值为23.6%，在1,000 cd m−2时保持22%的外量子效率。此外，我们的led在100 cd m−2的初始亮度下实现了超过50,000小时的计算工作半衰期。我们的研究结果为环保qd - led在显示技术中的实际应用建立了基准。
{"title":"Dipole-assisted functionalization enables long-range ordering of ZnTeSe quantum dots for efficient and stable deep-blue electroluminescence","authors":"Wan-Shan Shen \u0000 (沈万姗), Li-Ming Xie \u0000 (谢黎明), Wen-Long Fei \u0000 (费文龙), Xin Gu \u0000 (顾鑫), Ye Wang \u0000 (王晔), Hua-Hui Li \u0000 (李华辉), Wei-Zhi Liu \u0000 (刘伟之), Yun-Jun Wang \u0000 (王允军), Wen-Ming Su \u0000 (苏文明), Ya-Kun Wang \u0000 (王亚坤), Liang-Sheng Liao \u0000 (廖良生)","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01878-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01878-3","url":null,"abstract":"Cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-free quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) are critical for next-generation, environment-friendly electroluminescent displays. However, Cd/Pb-free QD-LEDs remain severely limited in operational stability, particularly in the deep-blue region. For emission below 460 nm, the high hole injection barrier inhibits carrier balance, thus requiring high bias to reach practical levels of luminance. Here we develop a dipole-assisted strategy to enable long-range ordering and energy adjustment of ZnTeSe QDs—achieved via the surface reconstruction using 4-aminothiophenol—to reduce the hole barrier in the deep-blue region. The intramolecular dipole deriving from the aromatic-bridged amine and thiol moieties of 4-aminothiophenol ensures the ordering arrangement of QD films and reduces the energy between the vacuum and the Fermi level, leading to the upshift of both valence and conduction band without affecting the deep-blue emission. As a result, devices emit at 452 nm with a peak external quantum efficiency of 23.6% at luminance values of 800 cd m−2 and maintain an external quantum efficiency of 22% at 1,000 cd m−2. Moreover, our LEDs achieve a calculated operational half-lifetime exceeding 50,000 h at an initial luminance of 100 cd m−2. Our results establish a benchmark for eco-friendly QD-LEDs towards practical applications in display technologies.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147496809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-17DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01880-9
Iris Paparelle, Johan Henaff, Jorge García-Beni, Émilie Gillet, Daniel Montesinos, Gian Luca Giorgi, Miguel C. Soriano, Roberta Zambrini, Valentina Parigi
Forecasting complex processes requires efficient learning from temporal data. Reservoir computing platforms enable such learning with minimal training cost. Quantum reservoir computing (QRC) extends this framework into the quantum domain, offering promising capabilities for online, quantum-enhanced machine learning tailored to temporal tasks. As in the classical case, photonics provides a natural platform for QRC. However, implementing native memory capabilities in practical photonic quantum systems remains a major challenge. Here we demonstrate a photonic QRC platform based on deterministically generated multimode squeezed states, exploiting spectral and temporal multiplexing in a continuous-variable setting with controllable fading memory. Data is encoded via programmable pump phase shaping in an optical parametric process and retrieved through mode-selective homodyne detection. Real-time memory is implemented through feedback via electro-optic modulation, and expressivity is boosted via spatial multiplexing. This architecture enables nonlinear temporal tasks, including parity check at different delays and chaotic signal forecasting. All results are supported by a high-fidelity Digital Twin. Leveraging the entangled multimode structure enhances expressivity and memory capacity, establishing a scalable continuous-variable photonic platform for quantum-enhanced information processing.
{"title":"Experimental memory control in continuous-variable optical quantum reservoir computing","authors":"Iris Paparelle, Johan Henaff, Jorge García-Beni, Émilie Gillet, Daniel Montesinos, Gian Luca Giorgi, Miguel C. Soriano, Roberta Zambrini, Valentina Parigi","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01880-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01880-9","url":null,"abstract":"Forecasting complex processes requires efficient learning from temporal data. Reservoir computing platforms enable such learning with minimal training cost. Quantum reservoir computing (QRC) extends this framework into the quantum domain, offering promising capabilities for online, quantum-enhanced machine learning tailored to temporal tasks. As in the classical case, photonics provides a natural platform for QRC. However, implementing native memory capabilities in practical photonic quantum systems remains a major challenge. Here we demonstrate a photonic QRC platform based on deterministically generated multimode squeezed states, exploiting spectral and temporal multiplexing in a continuous-variable setting with controllable fading memory. Data is encoded via programmable pump phase shaping in an optical parametric process and retrieved through mode-selective homodyne detection. Real-time memory is implemented through feedback via electro-optic modulation, and expressivity is boosted via spatial multiplexing. This architecture enables nonlinear temporal tasks, including parity check at different delays and chaotic signal forecasting. All results are supported by a high-fidelity Digital Twin. Leveraging the entangled multimode structure enhances expressivity and memory capacity, establishing a scalable continuous-variable photonic platform for quantum-enhanced information processing.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs) have garnered considerable scientific interest on account of their special aggregated structures consisting of extended molecular sheets stacked in layers to form periodic columnar π arrays and open porous channels. The configurable functional groups and controllable molecular stacks in 2D COFs offer a programmable platform for developing advanced luminescent systems. However, precise manipulation of their photophysical properties and thorough understanding of their excited state dynamics remain fundamentally challenging. Here we report two imine-linked 2D COF powders that exhibit thermally activated delayed fluorescence, in which long-range order and dense stacking minimize the singlet–triplet splitting energy and promote reverse intersystem crossing. By engineering interlayer stacking modes and external environments, dynamic manipulation of photoluminescence from delayed fluorescence to phosphorescence is established in 2D COFs. Specifically, the interlayer insertion of solvent molecules and cryogenic rigidification enhance phosphorescence emissions of 2D COFs at 77 K. We observe photoactivated room temperature phosphorescence behaviour with lifetimes of up to 1.26 s and exceptional long-term stability exceeding 20 months from embedded COF dispersions in three-dimensional crosslinked epoxy matrix by in situ polymerization. The potential applications of these COF@epoxy composites in three-dimensional manufacturing, antibacterial treatment and erasable light printing are demonstrated.
{"title":"Dynamic manipulation of photoluminescence in two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks","authors":"Jingjing Guo, Shuai Bi, Ting He, Yu Cheng, Shihuai Wang, Zhifang Wang, Xiaobin Dong, Yue Zhao, Zujin Zhao, Ben Zhong Tang, Yanli Zhao","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01875-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01875-6","url":null,"abstract":"Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs) have garnered considerable scientific interest on account of their special aggregated structures consisting of extended molecular sheets stacked in layers to form periodic columnar π arrays and open porous channels. The configurable functional groups and controllable molecular stacks in 2D COFs offer a programmable platform for developing advanced luminescent systems. However, precise manipulation of their photophysical properties and thorough understanding of their excited state dynamics remain fundamentally challenging. Here we report two imine-linked 2D COF powders that exhibit thermally activated delayed fluorescence, in which long-range order and dense stacking minimize the singlet–triplet splitting energy and promote reverse intersystem crossing. By engineering interlayer stacking modes and external environments, dynamic manipulation of photoluminescence from delayed fluorescence to phosphorescence is established in 2D COFs. Specifically, the interlayer insertion of solvent molecules and cryogenic rigidification enhance phosphorescence emissions of 2D COFs at 77 K. We observe photoactivated room temperature phosphorescence behaviour with lifetimes of up to 1.26 s and exceptional long-term stability exceeding 20 months from embedded COF dispersions in three-dimensional crosslinked epoxy matrix by in situ polymerization. The potential applications of these COF@epoxy composites in three-dimensional manufacturing, antibacterial treatment and erasable light printing are demonstrated.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"130 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are widely utilized in photonics as classical and quantum light sources. Conventional OPOs produce co-propagating signal and idler waves that can be either degenerately or non-degenerately phase matched. This configuration, however, renders their frequencies highly sensitive to external disturbances. Here we demonstrate a degeneracy-locked OPO achieved through backward phase matching in a submicrometre periodically poled thin-film lithium niobate microresonator. Although backward phase matching establishes frequency degeneracy of the signal and idler, the backscattering in the waveguide further ensures phase locking between them. Their interplay permits the locking of the OPO’s degeneracy over a broad parameter space, resulting in deterministic degenerate OPO initiation and robust operation against both pump detuning and temperature fluctuations. This work, thus, provides a new approach for synchronized operations in nonlinear photonics and extends the functionality of optical parametric oscillators. With its potential for large-scale integration, it provides a chip-based platform for advanced applications, such as squeezed light generation, coherent optical computing and investigations of complex nonlinear phenomena.
{"title":"Degeneracy-locked optical parametric oscillator","authors":"Fengyan Yang, Jiacheng Xie, Yiyu Zhou, Yubo Wang, Chengxing He, Yu Guo, Hong X. Tang","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01874-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01874-7","url":null,"abstract":"Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are widely utilized in photonics as classical and quantum light sources. Conventional OPOs produce co-propagating signal and idler waves that can be either degenerately or non-degenerately phase matched. This configuration, however, renders their frequencies highly sensitive to external disturbances. Here we demonstrate a degeneracy-locked OPO achieved through backward phase matching in a submicrometre periodically poled thin-film lithium niobate microresonator. Although backward phase matching establishes frequency degeneracy of the signal and idler, the backscattering in the waveguide further ensures phase locking between them. Their interplay permits the locking of the OPO’s degeneracy over a broad parameter space, resulting in deterministic degenerate OPO initiation and robust operation against both pump detuning and temperature fluctuations. This work, thus, provides a new approach for synchronized operations in nonlinear photonics and extends the functionality of optical parametric oscillators. With its potential for large-scale integration, it provides a chip-based platform for advanced applications, such as squeezed light generation, coherent optical computing and investigations of complex nonlinear phenomena.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-13DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01867-6
Joshua D. Springsteen, Noel C. Giebink, Stephen R. Forrest
Charge injection, transport and recombination in thin-film organic electronic devices is predicted to be filamentary on the nanoscale owing to energetic disorder. However, direct experimental evidence of this phenomenon has remained elusive. Here we study small molecule organic light-emitting diodes using super-resolution microscopy and find that their electroluminescence is spatially non-uniform at submicrometre length scales. The local electroluminescence intensity varies by up to 30% relative to the mean and flickers stochastically on millisecond-to-second timescales. These inhomogeneities are neither observed in photoluminescence nor polycrystalline organic light-emitting diodes, and differ for the highest- and lowest-energy components of the electroluminescence spectrum. They are consistent with intrinsic nanoscale variation in the local recombination rate induced by static disorder in amorphous thin films and should be present in a range of organic light-emitting diodes and other organic optoelectronic devices. Our observations should lead to improved models of nanoscale charge transport that benefit the design and performance of organic optoelectronic devices.
{"title":"Nanoscale electroluminescence inhomogeneity and blinking in organic light-emitting diodes","authors":"Joshua D. Springsteen, Noel C. Giebink, Stephen R. Forrest","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01867-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01867-6","url":null,"abstract":"Charge injection, transport and recombination in thin-film organic electronic devices is predicted to be filamentary on the nanoscale owing to energetic disorder. However, direct experimental evidence of this phenomenon has remained elusive. Here we study small molecule organic light-emitting diodes using super-resolution microscopy and find that their electroluminescence is spatially non-uniform at submicrometre length scales. The local electroluminescence intensity varies by up to 30% relative to the mean and flickers stochastically on millisecond-to-second timescales. These inhomogeneities are neither observed in photoluminescence nor polycrystalline organic light-emitting diodes, and differ for the highest- and lowest-energy components of the electroluminescence spectrum. They are consistent with intrinsic nanoscale variation in the local recombination rate induced by static disorder in amorphous thin films and should be present in a range of organic light-emitting diodes and other organic optoelectronic devices. Our observations should lead to improved models of nanoscale charge transport that benefit the design and performance of organic optoelectronic devices.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"270 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147454768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-13DOI: 10.1038/s41566-026-01868-5
Xinyu Jia, Chang You, Chonghao Zhai, Xuezhi Zhu, Yun Zheng, Tianxiang Dai, Zhaorong Fu, Xiaolong Su, Qihuang Gong, Jianwei Wang
Photonic integrated circuits provide a controllable and scalable platform for quantum information processing. In particular, continuous-variable integrated photonic quantum devices—which encode quantum information in the quadratures of optical qumodes—provide distinct advantages, although generating multimode entanglement in such systems has remained a key challenge. Here we demonstrate a monolithic integrated quantum photonic circuit that enables the full on-chip generation, manipulation and measurement of continuous-variable multi-qumode cluster-state entanglement. The device incorporates strongly squeezed quantum light sources with wafer-scale scalability, high-fidelity single-qumode and two-qumode entangling gates, and local oscillators and interferometers for balanced homodyne detection—all on a single chip. This co-integration enables the preparation, control and measurement of four-qumode cluster states and individual qumodes with high stability and high fidelity. The monolithic integration of high-performance devices allows rigorous verification of genuine multipartite entanglement with unambiguous cluster-state structures. This work establishes a controllable and scalable platform for optical quantum computing, networking and sensing.
{"title":"Monolithic integration of continuous-variable cluster-state generation, manipulation and measurement","authors":"Xinyu Jia, Chang You, Chonghao Zhai, Xuezhi Zhu, Yun Zheng, Tianxiang Dai, Zhaorong Fu, Xiaolong Su, Qihuang Gong, Jianwei Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41566-026-01868-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01868-5","url":null,"abstract":"Photonic integrated circuits provide a controllable and scalable platform for quantum information processing. In particular, continuous-variable integrated photonic quantum devices—which encode quantum information in the quadratures of optical qumodes—provide distinct advantages, although generating multimode entanglement in such systems has remained a key challenge. Here we demonstrate a monolithic integrated quantum photonic circuit that enables the full on-chip generation, manipulation and measurement of continuous-variable multi-qumode cluster-state entanglement. The device incorporates strongly squeezed quantum light sources with wafer-scale scalability, high-fidelity single-qumode and two-qumode entangling gates, and local oscillators and interferometers for balanced homodyne detection—all on a single chip. This co-integration enables the preparation, control and measurement of four-qumode cluster states and individual qumodes with high stability and high fidelity. The monolithic integration of high-performance devices allows rigorous verification of genuine multipartite entanglement with unambiguous cluster-state structures. This work establishes a controllable and scalable platform for optical quantum computing, networking and sensing.","PeriodicalId":18926,"journal":{"name":"Nature Photonics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":35.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147454764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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