A hybrid nanophotonic trap for cold caesium atoms uses surface forces for attraction and blue-detuned light for repulsion to achieve efficient loading and enhanced storage and coherence times.

An optical microcantilever sensor achieves piconewton sensitivity for dynamic force measurements in liquid environments, enabling non-invasive monitoring of cellular mechanics. The stethoscope platform captures real-time dynamics for enhanced understanding of biomechanics.

Using integrated lithium niobate electro-optic frequency combs with slightly different repetition rates, accurate tracking of the frequency variation in a frequency-modulated laser enables stable and high-precision 3D scene ranging.

Atomic-scale lightwave-driven scanning tunnelling microscopy with attosecond time resolution observes individual electrons while they are tunnelling through an energy barrier.

Temporally super-resolved time-stretch spectroscopy is developed to sequentially measure non-repetitive spectra in a single shot. Proof-of-concept experiments reveal the spectral evolution of 25-GHz electro-optic comb pulses and distinguish spectra separated by 3 ps.

Researchers demonstrate the generation of helical intensity wavepackets at relativistic intensities, reaching peak values above 1.4 × 10¹⁸ W cm⁻². Controlled spatiotemporal orbital angular momentum, in a geometry compatible with large-scale laser facilities, is realized.

Optical neural networks promise unmatched efficiency, bandwidth, and latency — critical benefits as demand for neural network hardware surges. However, their practical value for general-purpose acceleration or specialized applications must be proven under application-realistic conditions. We discuss recent insights and outline key research priorities.

About two decades ago, proof-of-principle demonstrations used light to enable heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). Now, with over a million HAMR drives in the market, Nature Photonics spoke to Seagate VP of Research Ed Gage about what is arguably one of the greatest commercial success stories in plasmonics.

Orazio Svelto, one of the founding figures of modern laser physics, passed away on 9 January 2026, shortly before his 90th birthday. With his death, the global scientific community loses not only a pioneer whose ideas helped shape more than six decades of laser science, but also a master teacher, an institution builder, and a generous mentor whose legacy will continue to illuminate physics for generations.

John ‘JJ’ Joannopoulos, a pioneering condensed-matter theorist who contributed to the launch of modern nanophotonics and mentored a plethora of scientists and engineers, passed away on 17 August 2025, aged 78. In his five decades at MIT, JJ combined first-principles insights with a gift for nurturing people, shaping fields from ab initio materials theory to photonic crystals and their applications.

Characterizing and reporting photodetector performance demands common standards to ensure rigorous, reproducible and comparable practices.