November 2010 Volume 4, Issue 11

Editorial

Celebrating graphene p731
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.265
Graphene — a form of carbon isolated only six years ago — is the topic of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics, giving hope for future applications of this intriguing material in the field of photonics.
Full Text | PDF

Research Highlights

Our choice from the recent literature pp732 - 733
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.245
Full Text | PDF

News and Views

Progress Article

Optical arbitrary waveform generation pp760 - 766
Steven T. Cundiff and Andrew M. Weiner
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.196
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Letters

100 mW deep-ultraviolet emission from aluminium-nitride-based quantum wells pumped by an electron beam pp767 - 770
Takao Oto, Ryan G. Banal, Ken Kataoka, Mitsuru Funato and Yoichi Kawakami
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.220
Researchers demonstrate the generation of deep-ultraviolet light of wavelength ~240 nm from AlxGa1-xN/AlN quantum wells by electron beam irradiation, with an output power of 100 mW and an efficiency of ~40%. This record-breaking power is attributed to the high crystalline quality of the quantum wells and the proper well design for electron beam pumping.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: News and Views by Schubert & Cho

Optical trapping of an ion pp772 - 775
Ch. Schneider, M. Enderlein, T. Huber and T. Schaetz
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.236
It is well-known that neutral atoms can be trapped using visible light, but the trapping of ions is typically achieved using radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Researchers have now developed an optical ion trapping technique that may be useful for applications ranging from quantum physics to ultracold chemistry.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: News and Views by Nieminen

Slow light on a chip via atomic quantum state control pp776 - 779
Bin Wu, John F. Hulbert, Evan J. Lunt, Katie Hurd, Aaron R. Hawkins and Holger Schmidt
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.211
Researchers exploit atomic quantum state control in a fully integrated photonic atomic spectroscopy chip to reduce the group velocity of light by a factor of 1,200 — the lowest group velocity ever reported for a solid-state material. The findings will enable the creation of on-chip nonlinear optical devices with enhanced quantum coherence operating at ultralow power levels.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: Interview with Holger Schmidt

Articles

Microscopy with self-reconstructing beams pp780 - 785
Florian O. Fahrbach, Philipp Simon and Alexander Rohrbach
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.204
A prototype microscope built with self-reconstructing Bessel beams is shown to be able to reduce scattering artifacts as well as increase image quality and penetration depth in three-dimensional inhomogeneous opaque media.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: News and Views by Padgett

Quantum transduction of telecommunications-band single photons from a quantum dot by frequency upconversion pp786 - 791
Matthew T. Rakher, Lijun Ma, Oliver Slattery, Xiao Tang and Kartik Srinivasan
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.221
Colour conversion of single photons may allow the advantages of quantum systems operating at different wavelengths to be simultaneously utilized. Researchers demonstrate the colour conversion of triggered single photons from a semiconductor quantum dot between 1.3 μm to 710 nm. The up-converted signal maintains the quantum character of the original light.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

From quantum multiplexing to high-performance quantum networking pp792 - 796
W. J. Munro, K. A. Harrison, A. M. Stephens, S. J. Devitt and Kae Nemoto
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.213
Researchers describe a theoretical mechanism that may ensure high-fidelity entanglement of photons, and thus could be used to construct a practical quantum repeater. The communication rate is shown to be a function of the maximum distance between any two adjacent quantum repeaters, rather than of the entire length of the network.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Interview

Slow light on a chip p798
Interview with Holger Schmidt
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.251
By exploiting optical quantum interference in integrated atomic vapour cells, Holger Schmidt and co-workers have achieved the slowest on-chip light propagation speed reported to date.
Full Text | PDF