Progress in Quantum Electronics最新文献

The magneto-optical effect (Faraday effect) was discovered in the middle of the 19^th century. In the latter half of the 20^th century, the practical use of isolators using single crystals (Faraday rotators) using the melt growth method began. One century after Faraday's discovery of the magneto-optic effect, R.L. Coble proved translucency of polycrystalline ceramics. Ceramics may have many scattering sources due to their polycrystalline microstructure, and even from the viewpoint of scattering theory, it was considered impossible to apply them to the generation of coherent light (laser). However, 40 years later, A. Ikesue demonstrated laser ceramics for the first time with performance comparable to that of optical single crystal counterparts. The possibility of laser application of polycrystalline ceramics also makes it possible to apply it to Faraday rotators (optical isolators) that utilize coherence light. A magneto-optical single crystal composed of a single crystal orientation was considered to be superior in that it provided excellent optical performance and an accurate Faraday rotation angle. However, polycrystalline ceramics composed of random crystal orientations can not only provide accurate Faraday rotation angle but can also have a higher extinction ratio than single crystal isolators. A ceramic medium with extremely low scattering and extremely low insertion loss, which cannot be achieved with a single crystal material, has been developed. In addition, new materials, which have Verdet constants several times higher than those of main commercial crystal for isolator, have made it possible to reduce the size of isolator devices. However, these materials cannot be synthesized by the conventional melt-growth method. In the 21^st century, polycrystalline ceramics are paradigms for Faraday rotating elements, and are about to enter a period of change from single crystals to polycrystalline ceramics.

Optical frequency comb, with precisely controlled spectral lines spanning a broad range, has been the key enabling technology for many scientific breakthroughs. In addition to the traditional implementation based on mode-locked lasers, photonic frequency microcombs based on dissipative Kerr and quadratic cavity solitons in high-Q microresonators have become invaluable in applications requiring compact footprint, low cost, good energy efficiency, large comb spacing, and access to nonconventional spectral regions. In this review, we comprehensively examine the recent progress of photonic frequency microcombs and discuss how various phenomena can be utilized to enhance the microcomb performances that benefit a plethora of applications including optical atomic clockwork, optical frequency synthesizer, precision spectroscopy, astrospectrograph calibration, biomedical imaging, optical communications, coherent ranging, and quantum information science.

The epitaxial growth of semiconductor materials in nanowire geometries is enabling a new class of compact, micron scale optoelectronic devices. The deterministic selection and integration of single nanowire devices, from large growth populations, is required with high spatial accuracy and yield to enable their integration with on-chip systems. In this review we highlight the main methods by which single nanowires can be transferred from their growth substrate to a target chip. We present a range of chip-scale devices enabled by single NW transfer, including optical sources, receivers and waveguide networks. We discuss the scalability of common integration methods and their compatibility with standard lithographic methods and electronic contacting.

Semiconductor nanowire lasers are single-element structures that can act as both gain material and cavity for optical lasing. They have typical dimensions on the order of an optical wavelength in diameter and several micrometres in length, presenting unique challenges for testing and characterisation. Optical microscopy and spectroscopy are powerful tools used to study nanowire lasers; here, we review the common techniques and analytical approaches often used and outline potential pitfalls in their application. We aim to outline best practise and experimental approaches used for characterisation of the material, cavity and lasing performance of nanowires towards applications in biology, photonics and telecommunications.

Pronounced polarization anisotropy in semiconductor nanowires has been exploited to achieve polarization-sensitive devices operating across the electromagnetic spectrum, from the ultraviolet to the terahertz band. This contribution describes the physical origins of optical and electrical anisotropy in nanowires. Polarization anisotropy arising from dielectric contrast, and the behaviour of (nano)wire grid polarizers, are derived from first principles. This review discusses experimental observations of polarization-sensitive light–matter interactions in nanowires. It then describes how these phenomena are employed in devices that detect or modulate polarized terahertz radiation on ultrafast timescales. Such novel terahertz device concepts are expected to find use in a wide variety of applications including high-speed terahertz-band communications and molecular fingerprinting.

In this review article, we discuss the molecular beam epitaxy and basic structural, electronic, optical, excitonic, chemical and catalytic properties of III-nitride nanostructures, including nanowires, monolayer heterostructures, and quantum dots. Their emerging applications in ultraviolet, visible and infrared photonics, quantum optoelectronics, and artificial photosynthesis that are relevant for next generation mobile display, virtual/augmented reality, quantum communication, and energy, water, and environment sustainability challenges are presented.

The ability to manipulate light at the level of single photons, its elementary excitation quanta, has recently made it possible to produce a rich variety of tailor-made quantum states and arbitrary quantum operations, of high interest for fundamental science and applications. Here we present a concise review of the progress made over the last few decades in the engineering of quantum light states. Although far from exhaustive, this review aims at providing a sufficiently wide and updated introduction that may serve as the entry point to such a fascinating and rapidly evolving field.