Event synchronization is a ubiquitous task, with applications ranging from 5G technology to industrial automation and smart power grids. The emergence of quantum communication networks will further increase the demand for precise synchronization in the optical and electronic domains, which implies significant resource overhead, such as the requirement for ultrastable clocks or additional synchronization lasers. Here, we show how temporal correlations of photons may be harnessed for synchronization in quantum networks. We achieve stable synchronization jitter $<68$ ps with as few as 44 correlated detection events per 100-ms data package and demonstrate feasibility in realistic emulated high-loss link scenarios, including atmospheric turbulence. In contrast to previous work, this is accomplished without any external timing reference and only simple crystal oscillators. Our approach replaces the optical and electronic transmission of timing signals with classical communication and computer-aided postprocessing. It can be easily integrated into a wide range of quantum communication networks and could pave the way to future applications in entanglement-based secure time transmission.

Artificial magnetism can be realized with metamaterials in high frequencies, which are important for many applications. However, such metamaterials need to be constructed with metal or high-relative-permittivity dielectric and thus may exhibit absorption loss. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate a pair of magnetic metamaterials that have inversion symmetry and are generated from a parent photonic crystal with low-relative-permittivity dielectric (${\epsilon }_r<4$). Interestingly, one metamaterial is paramagnetic, the other is diamagnetic, and the product of their effective relative permeabilities is close to 1 (${\mu }_{e1}>1$, ${\mu }_{e2}<1$, ${\mu }_{e1}{\mu }_{e2}\approx 1$) in a broad frequency range. As a result, fascinating effects, such as wide-angle and wide-frequency near-perfect transmission and interface states, are observed in the systems.

Polarization-preserving fibers maintain the two polarization states of an orthogonal basis. Quantum communication, however, requires sending at least two nonorthogonal states and these cannot both be preserved. We present an alternative scheme that allows for using polarization encoding in a fiber not only in the discrete, but also in the continuous-variable regime. For the example of a helically twisted photonic crystal fiber, we experimentally demonstrate that using appropriate nonorthogonal modes, the polarization-preserving fiber does not fully scramble these modes over the full Poincaré sphere, but that the output polarization will stay on a great circle; that is, within a one-dimensional protected subspace, which can be parametrized by a single variable. This allows for more efficient measurements of quantum excitations in nonorthogonal modes.

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) is a reliable platform for entanglement generation. Routinely, a coherent laser beam is an essential prerequisite for pumping the nonlinear crystal. Here we break this barrier to generate polarization-entangled photon pairs by using a commercial light-emitting diode (LED) source to serve as the pump beam. This effect is counterintuitive, as the LED source is of extremely low spatial coherence, which is transferred during the down-conversion process to the biphoton wave function. However, the type-II phase matching condition naturally filters the specific frequency and wavelength of LED light exclusively to participate in SPDC such that localized polarization Bell states can be generated, regardless of the global incoherence over the full transverse plane. In our experiment, we characterize the degree of LED light-induced polarization entanglement in the standard framework of the violation of Bell's inequality. We achieve the Bell value $S=2.33\pm 0.097$, obviously surpassing the classical bound $S=2$ and thus witnessing the quantum entanglement. Our work can be extended to prepare polarization entanglement by using other natural light sources, such as sunlight and biolight, which holds promise for electricity-free quantum communications in outer space.

The possibility to control friction through surface microtexturing can offer invaluable advantages in many fields, from wear and pollution reduction in the transportation industry to improved adhesion and grip. Unfortunately, the texture optimization problem is very hard to solve using traditional experimental and numerical methods, due to the complexity of the texture configuration space. Here, we apply machine learning techniques to perform the texture optimization, by training a deep neural network to predict, with extremely high accuracy and speed, the Stribeck curve of a textured surface in lubricated contact. The deep neural network is used to completely resolve the mapping between textures and Stribeck curves, enabling a simple method to solve the texture optimization problem. This work demonstrates the potential of machine learning techniques in texture optimization for friction control in lubricated contacts.

Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectroscopy of defect-rich semiconductors is being increasingly exploited for realizing a variety of practical quantum sensing devices. A prime example is the on-going development of compact magnetometers based on the nitrogen-vacancy (N-$V$) defect in diamond for the remote sensing of magnetic signals with high accuracy and sensitivity. In these applications, the ODMR-active material is integrated into the overall apparatus to form a self-contained sensor. However, some emerging applications require the sensing material to be in physical contact with an external object of interest, thus requiring an independent readout device. Here we present an ODMR meter, a compact device specially designed to allow convenient, contactless monitoring of ODMR in a target object, and demonstrate its application to temperature monitoring with N-$V$ defects. Our prototype is composed of a handheld readout head (integrating all the necessary optical components and a microwave antenna) and a control box connected to a laptop computer, all made primarily from commercial off-the-shelf components. We test our device using a N-$V$-rich bulk diamond as the object, demonstrate a temperature sensitivity of $10\mathrm{mK}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ in static conditions, and demonstrate the feasibility of handheld operation. The limitations to measurement speed, sensitivity, and accuracy are discussed. The presented device may find immediate use in medical and industrial applications where accurate thermometry is required, and can be extended to magnetic field measurements.

Impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) using a single short femtosecond pump pulse to excite molecular vibrations offers an elegant pump-probe approach to perform vibrational imaging below $200{\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$. One shortcoming of ISRS is its inability to offer vibrational selectivity as all the vibrational bonds whose frequencies lie within the short pump-pulse bandwidth are excited. To date, several coherent control techniques have been explored to address this issue and selectively excite a specific molecular vibration by shaping the pump pulse. There has not been any systematic work that reports an analogous shaping of the probe pulse to implement preferential detection. In this work, we focus on vibrational imaging and report vibrational selective detection by shaping the probe pulse in time. We demonstrate numerically and experimentally two pulse-shaping strategies with one functioning as a vibrational notch filter and the other functioning as a vibrational low-pass filter. This enables fast ($25\text{μ}\mathrm{s}/$pixel) and selective hyperspectral imaging in the low-frequency regime ($<200{\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$).

Resonant sensors hold great promise in measuring small masses, to enable future mass spectrometers, and small forces in applications like atomic and magnetic force microscopy. During the last decades, scaling down the size of resonators has led to huge enhancements in sensing resolution, but has also raised the question of what the ultimate limit is. Current knowledge suggests that this limit is reached when a resonator oscillates at the maximum amplitude for which its response is predominantly linear. We present experimental evidence that it is possible to obtain better resolutions by oscillation amplitudes beyond the onset of nonlinearities. An analytical model is developed that explains the observations and unravels the relation between ultimate sensing resolution and speed. In the high-speed limit, we find that the ultimate resolution of a resonator is improved when decreasing its damping. This conclusion contrasts with previous works, which proposed that lowering the damping does not affect or even harms the ultimate sensing resolution.

The detection of prompt photofission neutrons during active interrogation is a strong indication of the presence of special nuclear materials. However, the high-energy photons used for interrogation create a very challenging radiation environment for the detection of prompt fission signatures. These challenges include detector saturation and pulse pile-up. Additionally, there is an elevated neutron background that further challenges the detection of prompt fission neutrons. This background is produced because of (γ, Xn) photonuclear reactions in the surrounding high-Z materials. Here, we demonstrate the detection of prompt photofission neutrons in these challenging environments. Depleted uranium (DU) and lead targets are interrogated with bremsstrahlung photons produced by a 9-MV electron linear accelerator. Fast neutrons are detected with trans-stilbene organic detectors, and scintillation pulses are analyzed using a previously developed and demonstrated artificial neural network system. We observe a 5 times higher photoneutron count rate when the lead target is replaced with the DU target. Additionally, we observe a difference in the photoneutron light-output distributions of lead and DU. This difference in the measured distributions is due to the difference in the photoneutron-energy spectra; DU photoneutrons are emitted with (γ, n) and watt-energy spectra, whereas lead photoneutrons are emitted with only the (γ, n) spectrum.

The optoelectronic reciprocity theorem has been proposed as a theorem relating electroluminescence (EL) and photovoltaic external quantum efficiency in solar cells. The theorem is vital for a fundamental understanding of solar cell operation and its application to device evaluation. Furthermore, with this theorem, it is also possible to estimate the open-circuit voltage ($V_{\mathrm{OC}}$) of solar cells using the external radiative efficiency (${\eta }_{\mathrm{ext}}$) obtained from the absolute value of EL emission intensity, even for solar cells for which we cannot directly measure $V_{\mathrm{OC}}$, such as subcells of multijunction solar cells or individual $\mathrm{Si}$ cells in modules and arrays. However, it is not a priori obvious that the optoelectronic reciprocity theorem holds for the various solar cells that exist. In this study, we report the results of qualitative and quantitative confirmation of the validity of the optoelectronic reciprocity theorem for high-efficiency ${\mathrm{Cu}\mathrm{In}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Ga}}_x{\mathrm{Se}}_2$ (CIGS) solar cells fabricated by us. The results confirm that our CIGS solar cells qualitatively and quantitatively satisfy the optoelectronic reciprocity theorem within the limits of measurement uncertainty. Also, we experimentally confirm that the value of the diode ideality factor for the applied voltage dependence of the EL emission intensity is exactly unity when the emission mechanism is the band-edge emission due to the direct recombination of electron-hole pairs. Finally, the importance of the ${\eta }_{\mathrm{ext}}$ for improving solar cell efficiency is explained.

Phononic crystal (PnC) enables strong confinement of phonons in a wavelength-scale tiny area due to a band gap, which can enhance the interaction with different physical systems. Here, we utilize the PnC to demonstrate local manipulations of magnons by using ultrahigh frequency phonons confined in a phononic cavity, where the tiny and low-loss vibrations excite magnons in a micromagnet via magnetostriction. Moreover, we find that the magnetoelastic interaction is modulated by selectively exciting the cavity resonant modes. The results open up a realm of PnC cavity magnomechanics and will provide universal controls of ultrahigh frequency magnons and phonons with PnC circuits.

The alternative variant of measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI QKD), called asynchronous MDI QKD or mode-pairing MDI QKD, offers similar repeaterlike rate-loss scaling but has the advantage of simple technology implementation by exploiting an innovative postmeasurement pairing technique. We herein present an evaluation of the practical aspects of decoy-state asynchronous MDI QKD. To determine its effectiveness, we analyze the optimal method of decoy-state calculation and examine the impact of asymmetrical channels and multiuser networks. Our simulations show that, under realistic conditions, aynchronous MDI QKD can furnish the highest key rate with MDI security as compared to other QKD protocols over distances ranging from 50 to 480 km. At fiber distances of 50 and 100 km, the key rates attain 6.02 and 2.29 Mbps, respectively, which are sufficient to facilitate real-time one-time-pad video encryption. Our findings indicate that experimental implementation of asynchronous MDI QKD in intercity networks can be both practical and efficient.

The interaction between microwave photons and magnons is well understood and originates from the Zeeman coupling between spins and a magnetic field. Interestingly, the magnon-photon interaction is accompanied by a phase factor, which can usually be neglected. However, under the rotating wave approximation, if two magnon modes simultaneously couple with two cavity resonances, this phase cannot be ignored as it changes the physics of the system. We consider two such systems, each differing by the sign of one of the magnon-photon coupling strengths. This simple difference, originating from the various coupling phases in the system, is shown to preserve, or destroy, two potential applications of hybrid photon-magnon systems, namely dark-mode memories and cavity-mediated coupling. The observable consequences of the coupling phase in this system is akin to the manifestation of a discrete Pancharatnam-Berry phase, which may be useful for quantum information processing and the creation of nonreciprocal devices using proper cavity engineering.

Exotic optoelectronic and transport properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials have made them the focus of several application-oriented studies. This work is a feasibility study of such 2D structures based on group-V elements as passivating/transparent conducting interlayers in photovoltaic applications. We present a detailed first-principles study of the optoelectronic and carrier-transport properties of the two most stable and experimentally synthesized allotropes ($\alpha$ and $\beta$) of $\mathrm{As}$, $\mathrm{Sb}$, and $\mathrm{Bi}$. Monolayers of both allotropes exhibit a band gap for all three elements, which decreases and eventually disappears beyond a critical number of layers (thickness). Interestingly, this transition from semiconducting to metallic behavior is found to be very different for $\mathrm{As}$ as compared with $\mathrm{Sb}$ and $\mathrm{Bi}$. $\alpha$-Arsenene remains semiconducting until the pentalayered structure, while $\beta$-arsenene becomes metallic beyond the bilayered structure. All other allotropes of $\mathrm{Sb}$ and $\mathrm{Bi}$ are semiconducting only for a monolayer. The in-plane conductivity of the monolayered structures lies in the range from ${10}^4$ to ${10}^5\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$, and increases with increasing layer thickness. On the other hand, the monolayers exhibit the lowest reflectivity ($5\mathrm{\%}$ or less), which increases to more than 25%, 50%, and 40% in the visible region for pentalayers of $\alpha$- and $\beta$-arsenene, antimonene, and bismuthene, respectively. Trilayered $\alpha$-arsenene, with a figure of merit ($T^{10}/R_{\mathrm{sh}}$) of approximately $0.15\mathrm{mS}$, is a promising candidate as a transparent conducting layer in solar-cell applications. Such combined evaluation of 2D materials based on their optoelectronic and transport properties is quite useful for future experimental investigations.

Planar heterojunction-based organic light-emitting diodes (PHJ OLEDs) usually have simultaneous exciton and exciplex emissions and understanding their evolution processes is crucial for designing high-performance white OLEDs, but relevant evolution mechanisms are still unclear. Here, unreported competitions between exciton and exciplex emissions and an undiscovered energy-transfer channel from triplet exciton to triplet exciplex states in PHJ OLEDs with different hole-injection abilities are investigated by separately measuring their current-dependent electroluminescence (EL) spectra and magneto-EL (MEL) traces at different temperatures. Interestingly, the ratio of emission intensity between exciton and exciplex states ($R=I_{\mathrm{exciton}}/I_{\mathrm{exciplex}}$) from the device with a good hole-injection ability rises with increasing bias current at each temperature, whereas that from the device with a poor hole-injection ability hardly changes. In addition, R from the devices with good and poor hole-injection abilities show nonmonotonic variation and monotonic reduction with decreasing operational temperature at each bias current, respectively. These various current- and temperature-dependent competitions between exciton and exciplex emissions are attributed to distinct current- and temperature-dependent electron-tunneling effects occurring at organic heterojunction interfaces of devices with different hole-injection abilities. More intriguingly, using MEL as a fingerprint detection tool, we find there is a Dexter energy-transfer (DET) channel from the triplet exciton to triplet exciplex ($T_1\to {\mathrm{EX}}_3$) state and the DET can enhance the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) process from triplet to singlet exciplexes (${\mathrm{EX}}_3\to {\mathrm{EX}}_1$), which cannot be found using the conventional probing tool, EL spectra. Because the numbers of $T_1$ excitons in these devices have different current and temperature dependencies, various current- and temperature-dependent DET and RISC processes happen, which cause abundant MEL behaviors. Obviously, this work deepens the physical understanding of the competition and DET processes between exciton and exciplex states in PHJ OLEDs.

Large-bandwidth x-ray free-electron-laser (XFEL) facilities are desirable scientific tools in various fields, such as molecular structural dynamics and spectroscopy diagnosis. Various methods are proposed to broaden the FEL spectra. Here, a method is proposed to generate high-power XFEL radiation of tunable spectral bandwidth using plasma wakefield acceleration. An ultrabroad bandwidth is achieved by chirping the electron beam in a hollow-channel plasma without noticeable slice-beam-quality degradation. A dedicated beamline can match the beams with a large energy chirp in the undulators almost without beam loss. Numerical simulations demonstrate that a relative spectral bandwidth (full width) of up to 24% can be obtained with optimized beam and plasma parameters.

Coding metasurfaces bring photonic design into a new era for their convenience in manipulating electromagnetic waves in a programmable way. Different coding patterns can be further convoluted to give rise to nontrivial effects such as multiple beam steering, simultaneous control of surface and space waves, and the integration of multiple functionalities. However, previous experimental works have been limited to low frequencies. Extending convoluted coding metasurfaces to optical frequency can significantly reduce the size of structures, and therefore facilitate their applications in optical circuits. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a Pancharatnam-Berry metasurface designed by convoluting two distinct coding patterns. Such a metasurface exhibits integrated functionalities: the optical spin Hall effect and spin to orbital angular momentum conversion, which are robust over a broad visible band and a wide range of incident angles. Our work represents an important step towards multifunctional coding metasurfaces at optical frequency based on convolution operation.

Remanent polarization is a key parameter of a ferroelectric material. A large remanent polarization is favorable for various ferroelectric applications. Here, we report a large remanent polarization of 116.8 μC ${\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}$ observed in ${\mathrm{Bi}\mathrm{Mg}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{O}}_3$ (BMN)-modified ${\mathrm{Bi}\mathrm{Fe}\mathrm{O}}_3$ (BFO) thin films, epitaxially deposited on (001)-oriented ${\mathrm{Sr}\mathrm{Ti}\mathrm{O}}_3$ substrates buffered with ${\mathrm{La}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{Mn}\mathrm{O}}_3$ electrodes. Combined experimental analyses and first-principles calculations reveal that the incorporation of 10 mol % BMN into BFO increases both the intrinsic and extrinsic contributions, resulting in doubled polarization. The intrinsic polarization calculated for BFO-BMN is larger than that of BFO due to enhanced ionic displacements. Compared with epitaxial BFO films in a rhombohedral structure with an interaxial angle of α = 89.72° and quasitetragonal c/a = 1.018, the epitaxial BFO-BMN films become more tetragonal-like, with α = 89.91° and c/a = 1.037. Moreover, a unique rotated twinning-domain structure is developed in the BFO-BMN thin films, further increasing the out-of-plane polarization by rotating the [111] direction toward the film’s normal. These results provide additional opportunities to increase ferroelectric polarization through composition engineering.

We propose a quantum repeater architecture that can operate without cryogenics. Each node in our architecture builds on a cell of hot alkali atoms and noble-gas spins that offer an hours-long storage time. Such a cell of hybrid gases is placed in a ring cavity, which allows us to suppress the detrimental four-wave-mixing noise in the system. We investigate the protocol based on a single-photon source made of an ensemble of the same hot alkali atoms. A single photon emitted from the source is either stored in the memory or transmitted to the central station to be detected. We quantify the fidelity and success probability of generating entanglement between two remote ensembles of noble-gas spins by taking into account finite memory efficiency, channel loss, and dark counts in detectors. We describe how the entanglement can be extended to long distances via entanglement swapping operations by retrieving the stored signal. Moreover, we quantify the performance of this proposed repeater architecture in terms of repeater rates and overall entanglement fidelities and compare it to another recently proposed noncryogenic quantum repeater architecture based on nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) centers and optomechanical spin-photon interfaces. As the system requires a relatively simple setup, it is easier to perform multiplexing, which enables achieving rates comparable to the rates of repeaters with N-V centers and optomechanics, while the overall entanglement fidelities of the present scheme are higher than the fidelities of the previous scheme. Our work shows that a scalable long-distance quantum network made of hot hybrid atomic gases is within reach of current technological capabilities.