Optics in 2017

Our panel of editors reviewed 125 research summaries from scientists from around the world. They selected for publication 30 stories that they felt most clearly communicated breakthroughs of interest to the optics community. Some of the summaries have related multimedia that you can access using the links below. Thanks to all who submitted summaries as well as to our panel of guest editors: Robert D. Guenther, the panel chair, and guest editors Svetlana Boriskina, Mihaela Dinu, Dmitry Dylov, Alexandre Fong, Andrew Forbes, G. Groot Gregory, Arlene Smith and Stephen R. Wilk.

Quantum Computing

Multiphoton boson sampling; deterministic single-photon sources in 2-D semiconductors

• Toward “Quantum Supremacy” with Multiphoton Boson Sampling
• Deterministic Single-Photon Sources in 2-D Semiconductors

Optical Communications

Ultrafast laser-written devices; magnetic routing of light-induced waveguides; unscrambling light on a photonic chip; nanopillar LEDs in III–V/silicon

• Ultrafast Laser-Written Devices
• Magnetic 3-D Routing of Light-Induced Waveguides
• Unscrambling Light Automatically on a Photonic Chip (with video)
• Nanopillar Light-Emitting Diodes in III-V/Silicon

Entangled Light

Blurring the classical-quantum divide; on-chip entangled quDit states

• Blurring the Classical-Quantum Divide
• Scaling On-Chip Entangled Photon States to Higher Dimensions (with video)

Bio-Optics

Repairing blood vessel problems with light; electro-active optical waveguides for flu detection; imaging biological-cell forces; waveguides made of bacteria

• Light Detects and Alleviates Blood Vessel Malformation
• Detecting Influenza Virus with Electro-Active Optical Waveguides
• Shedding Light on the Forces Applied by Cells
• Bacterial Waveguides of Light (with video)

Imaging

Dual-axis OCT; super-resolution photoacoustics; subwavelength EUV imaging; real-time imaging of ferroelectric domain growth; scatter-plate microscopy

• Deep-Tissue Imaging by Dual-Axis OCT (with video)
• Super-Resolution Photoacoustics
• Subwavelength EUV Imaging
• 3-D Real-Time Imaging of Ferroelectric Domain Growth (with video)
• Diffraction-Limited Microscopy with a Simple Scatter Plate

Nanophotonics

Meta-optics in high-index dielectrics; molecular nano­photonics; hard-X-ray magnetic tomography; holographic optical nanoparticle manipulation

• Multipolar Nanophotonics and Meta-Optics
• A Molecular Route to Nanophotonics
• Hard-X-Ray Magnetic Tomography
• Toward Light-Driven Robotic Transport of Particles (with video)

Nonlinear Optics

Field-induced nonlinearities in silicon; OPA gains in ultra-silicon-rich nitride; Weyl points in optics

• Field-Induced Nonlinearities in Silicon Waveguides
• Giant Optical Parametric Gains via Ultra-Silicon-Rich Nitride
• Observation of Weyl Points in Optics

Photon Statistics

Tuning photon bunching in disordered lattices

• Tuning Photon Bunching in Disordered Lattices

Photonic Structures

Mirrorless Fano laser; 3-D topological photonics; light concentration in a dielectric cavity

• A Mirrorless Fano Laser
• Topological Photonics Goes Three-Dimensional
• Extreme Light Concentration in a Dielectric Cavity

Lasers

Capillary-wave lasers

• Cavity Optocapillaries and Water-Wave Lasers

Spectroscopy

Multidimensional dual-comb spectroscopy

• Frequency-Comb-Based Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy