December 2010 Volume 4, Issue 12

Editorial

X-ray vision p799
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.281
The century-old field of X-ray physics is being rejuvenated by new forms of ultrabright sources based on laser technology, promising a revolution in imaging capabilities.
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Correspondence

Avoiding the blinding attack in QKD pp800 - 801
Z. L. Yuan, J. F. Dynes and A. J. Shields
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.269
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Avoiding the blinding attack in QKD p801
Lars Lydersen, Carlos Wiechers, Christoffer Wittmann, Dominique Elser, Johannes Skaar and Vadim Makarov
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.278
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Interviews

Building X-ray lasers pp802 - 803
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.276
The SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source is now the world's brightest source of coherent ångström-wavelength X-rays. Paul Emma, the man who made this achievement possible, spoke to Nature Photonics about the challenges involved.
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Research Highlights

Our choice from the recent literature pp804 - 805
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.274
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News and Views

Reviews

X-ray free-electron lasers pp814 - 821
Brian W. J. McNeil and Neil R. Thompson
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.239
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

The attosecond nonlinear optics of bright coherent X-ray generation pp822 - 832
Tenio Popmintchev, Ming-Chang Chen, Paul Arpin, Margaret M. Murnane and Henry C. Kapteyn
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.256
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Coherent lensless X-ray imaging pp833 - 839
Henry N. Chapman and Keith A. Nugent
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.240
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Nanoscale X-ray imaging pp840 - 848
Anne Sakdinawat and David Attwood
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.267
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Letters

Rewritable nanoscale oxide photodetector pp849 - 852
Patrick Irvin, Yanjun Ma, Daniela F. Bogorin, Cheng Cen, Chung Wung Bark, Chad M. Folkman, Chang-Beom Eom and Jeremy Levy
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.238
Researchers report rewritable nanoscale photodetectors that exploit 2-3 nm nanowire junctions. Large electromagnetic fields in the gap region aid the detector response, which is electric-field-tunable and spans the visible to near-infrared regime.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: News and Views by Tang

Fast high-resolution spectroscopy of dynamic continuous-wave laser sources pp853 - 857
F. R. Giorgetta, I. Coddington, E. Baumann, W. C. Swann and N. R. Newbury
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.228
Researchers demonstrate a coherent dual-comb-based spectrometer capable of measuring continuous-wave optical waveforms at time resolutions of 30 μs and 320 μs over terahertz bandwidths. The device is potentially useful for sensing applications such as multispecies gas detection, coherent laser radar and optical metrology.
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Robustness of bipartite Gaussian entangled beams propagating in lossy channels pp858 - 861
F. A. S. Barbosa, A. S. Coelho, A. J. de Faria, K. N. Cassemiro, A. S. Villar, P. Nussenzveig and M. Martinelli
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.222
Quantum entanglement — used for quantum key distribution, communication and teleportation — is a fragile resource. Researchers investigate the conditions under which optical loss destroys entanglement, and report states that are particularly robust to such losses.
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Articles

Temporal solitons and pulse compression in photonic crystal waveguides pp862 - 868
P. Colman, C. Husko, S. Combrie, I. Sagnes, C. W. Wong and A. De Rossi
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.261
Using ~1-mm-long photonic crystal waveguides, scientists experimentally demonstrate the compression of 3 ps pulses to a minimum duration of 580 fs at a low pulse energy of ~20 pJ. The approach may pave the way for soliton applications in integrated photonic chips.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: News and Views by Skryabin & Knight

Real-space imaging of transient carrier dynamics by nanoscale pump-probe microscopy pp869 - 874
Yasuhiko Terada, Shoji Yoshida, Osamu Takeuchi and Hidemi Shigekawa
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.235
By combining advanced ultrashort-pulse laser technology with scanning tunneling microscopy, scientists demonstrate that they can directly image transient carrier dynamics in nanostructures in real space.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: Interview with Hidemi Shigekawa

High-energy isolated attosecond pulses generated by above-saturation few-cycle fields pp875 - 879
F. Ferrari, F. Calegari, M. Lucchini, C. Vozzi, S. Stagira, G. Sansone and M. Nisoli
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.250
Researchers report the generation of isolated sub-160-attosecond pulses that have photon energies of 30 eV, resulting in an on-target pulse energy of a few nanojoules. The availability of attosecond sources with high peak intensities may open new avenues for attosecond pump/probe studies of electronic processes in atomic and molecular physics.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF

Product Focus

Optical polishing equipment pp880 - 881
Neil Savage
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.273
Optical grinding and polishing plays an important role when optimizing the quality of an imaging system or minimizing unwanted reflections in a fibre-optic assembly.
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Interview

Ultrafast nanoprobing p882
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.271
Imaging the transient carrier dynamics in semiconductors at both high temporal and spatial resolution has long been a goal for solid-state scientists. Hidemi Shigekawa from the University of Tsukuba in Japan told Nature Photonics how his team accomplished this feat.
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