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Recent years have witnessed significant progress in quantum communication and quantum internet with the emerging quantum photonic chips, whose characteristics of scalability, stability, and low cost, flourish and open up new possibilities in miniaturized footprints. Here, we provide an overview of the advances in quantum photonic chips for quantum communication, beginning with a summary of the prevalent photonic integrated fabrication platforms and key components for integrated quantum communication systems. We then discuss a range of quantum communication applications, such as quantum key distribution and quantum teleportation. Finally, the review culminates with a perspective on challenges towards high-performance chip-based quantum communication, as well as a glimpse into future opportunities for integrated quantum networks.

Lateral optical forces induced by linearly polarized laser beams have been predicted to deflect dipolar particles with opposite chiralities toward opposite transversal directions. These “chirality-dependent” forces can offer new possibilities for passive all-optical enantioselective sorting of chiral particles, which is essential to the nanoscience and drug industries. However, previous chiral sorting experiments focused on large particles with diameters in the geometrical-optics regime. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, the robust sorting of Mie (size ~ wavelength) chiral particles with different handedness at an air–water interface using optical lateral forces induced by a single linearly polarized laser beam. The nontrivial physical interactions underlying these chirality-dependent forces distinctly differ from those predicted for dipolar or geometrical-optics particles. The lateral forces emerge from a complex interplay between the light polarization, lateral momentum enhancement, and out-of-plane light refraction at the particle-water interface. The sign of the lateral force could be reversed by changing the particle size, incident angle, and polarization of the obliquely incident light.Optical sorting: Forcing mirror-image microparticles to go their own wayA setup that uses lasers to automatically sort compounds with nearly imperceptible chemical differences could improve the efficiency of drug manufacturing. Many pharmaceuticals are difficult to purify because they are chiral, meaning they exist as one of two mirror-image structures that rotate in opposite directions under linearly polarized light. Cheng-Wei Qiu from the National University of Singapore and colleagues now report that lateral forces generated by a mix of reflected and refracted light rays can separate chiral microspheres floating on the surface of water. The team developed a line-shaped optical trap to hold a mix of chiral particles in place, and then directed a polarized laser beam into the trap. Microscopic imaging revealed that particles with identical chirality moved laterally when exposed to the beam, with velocities dependent on incident angle and microparticle size.

Arbitrary polarized vortex beam induced by polarization singularity offers a new platform for both classical optics and quantum entanglement applications. Bound states in the continuum (BICs) have been demonstrated to be associated with topological charge and vortex polarization singularities in momentum space. For conventional symmetric photonic crystal slabs (PhCSs), BIC is enclosed by linearly polarized far fields with winding angle of 2 π , which is unfavorable for high-capacity and multi-functionality integration-optics applications. Here, we show that by breaking σ z -symmetry of the PhCS, asymmetry in upward and downward directions and arbitrarily polarized BIC can be realized with a bilayer-twisted PhCS. It exhibits elliptical polarization states with constant ellipticity angle at every point in momentum space within the vicinity of BIC. The topological nature of BIC reflects on the orientation angle of polarization state, with a topological charge of 1 for any value of ellipticity angle. Full coverage of Poincaré sphere (i.e., − π 4 ≤ χ ≤ π 4 and − π 2 ≤ ψ ≤ π 2 ) and higher-order Poincaré sphere can be realized by tailoring the twist angles. Our findings may open up new avenues for applications in structured light, quantum optics, and twistronics for photons. Bilayer twisted photonic crystal slabs enable arbitrarily polarized bound states in continuum (BICs) covering full Poincare sphere.

Objects with different shapes, materials and temperatures can emit distinct polarizations and spectral information in mid-infrared band, which provides a unique signature in the transparent window for object identification. However, the crosstalk among various polarization and wavelength channels prevents from accurate mid-infrared detections at high signal-to-noise ratio. Here, we report full-polarization metasurfaces to break the inherent eigen-polarization constraint over the wavelengths in mid-infrared. This recipe enables to select arbitrary orthogonal polarization basis at individual wavelength independently, therefore alleviating the crosstalk and efficiency degradation. A six-channel all-silicon metasurface is specifically presented to project focused mid-infrared light to distinct positions at three wavelengths, each with a pair of arbitrarily chosen orthogonal polarizations. An isolation ratio of 117 between neighboring polarization channels is experimentally recorded, exhibiting detection sensitivity one order of magnitude higher than existing infrared detectors. Remarkably, the high aspect ratio ~30 of our meta-structures manufactured by deep silicon etching technology at temperature −150 °C guarantees the large and precise phase dispersion control over a broadband from 3 to 4.5 μm. We believe our results would benefit the noise-immune mid-infrared detections in remote sensing and space-to-ground communications. Dispersive eigen-polarization engineering enabled polychromatic full-polarization control in mid-infrared.

Exceptional points (EPs) can achieve intriguing asymmetric control in non-Hermitian systems due to the degeneracy of eigenstates. Here, we present a general method that extends this specific asymmetric response of EP photonic systems to address any arbitrary fully-polarized light. By rotating the meta-structures at EP, Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase can be exclusively encoded on one of the circular polarization-conversion channels. To address any arbitrary wavefront, we superpose the optical signals originating from two orthogonally polarized -yet degenerate- EP eigenmodes. The construction of such orthogonal EP eigenstates pairs is achieved by applying mirror-symmetry to the nanostructure geometry flipping thereby the EP eigenmode handedness from left to right circular polarization. Non-Hermitian reflective PB metasurfaces designed using such EP superposition enable arbitrary, yet unidirectional, vectorial wavefront shaping devices. Our results open new avenues for topological wave control and illustrate the capabilities of topological photonics to distinctively operate on arbitrary polarization-state with enhanced performances. The authors report the chiral inversion of exceptional points (EPs) through a structural mirror-symmetric operation, extending the application of EP to any desired polarization states, surpassing the inherent limitation of conventional EP systems.

Metasurfaces have exhibited exceptional proficiency in precisely modulating light properties within narrow wavelength spectra. However, there is a growing demand for multi-resonant metasurfaces capable of wavefront engineering across broad spectral ranges. In this study, we introduce a microcavity-assisted multi-resonant metasurface platform that integrates subwavelength meta-atoms with a specially designed distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) substrate. This platform enables the simultaneous excitation of various resonant modes within the metasurface, resulting in multiple high- Q resonances spanning from the visible to the near-infrared (NIR) regions. The developed metasurface generates up to 15 high- Q resonant peaks across the visible-NIR spectrum, achieving a maximum efficiency of 81% (70.7%) in simulation (experiment) with an average efficiency of 76.6% (54.5%) and a standard deviation of 4.1% (11.1%). Additionally, we demonstrate the versatility of the multi-resonant metasurface in amplitude, phase, and wavefront modulations at peak wavelengths. By integrating structural color printing and vectorial holographic imaging, our proposed metasurface platform shows potential for applications in optical displays and encryption. This work paves the way for the development of next-generation multi-resonant metasurfaces with broad-ranging applications in photonics and beyond. Previous multi-wavelength metasurfaces are restricted to a few wavelengths or lack wavefront control ability. Here, the authors introduce a microcavity-assisted metasurface that achieves multi-resonant wavefront engineering at 15 high-Q peak wavelengths from 480 nm to 1000 nm.

Optical sorting combines optical tweezers with diverse techniques, including optical spectrum, artificial intelligence (AI) and immunoassay, to endow unprecedented capabilities in particle sorting. In comparison to other methods such as microfluidics, acoustics and electrophoresis, optical sorting offers appreciable advantages in nanoscale precision, high resolution, non-invasiveness, and is becoming increasingly indispensable in fields of biophysics, chemistry, and materials science. This review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the history, development, and perspectives of various optical sorting techniques, categorised as passive and active sorting methods. To begin, we elucidate the fundamental physics and attributes of both conventional and exotic optical forces. We then explore sorting capabilities of active optical sorting, which fuses optical tweezers with a diversity of techniques, including Raman spectroscopy and machine learning. Afterwards, we reveal the essential roles played by deterministic light fields, configured with lens systems or metasurfaces, in the passive sorting of particles based on their varying sizes and shapes, sorting resolutions and speeds. We conclude with our vision of the most promising and futuristic directions, including AI-facilitated ultrafast and bio-morphology-selective sorting. It can be envisioned that optical sorting will inevitably become a revolutionary tool in scientific research and practical biomedical applications. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the history, development, and perspectives of various optical sorting techniques, categorised as passive and active sorting methods.

Optical vortices, featured with an infinite number of orthogonal channels of orbital angular momentum, have demonstrated marvelous potentials in optical multiplexing and associated applications. However, conventional vortex beams with global phase modulation approach usually possess a single topological charge (TC) and a uniform radial distance with the donut-shaped intensity, leaving unlimited spatial intensity information unexplored. Here, to break the spatial capacity limitation, we introduce an entirely new concept of a spatial-frequency patching metasurface by patching the field distribution piece-by-piece in the spatial-frequency domain, thereby breaking the symmetry of the beam morphology and allowing for local manipulation of spatial intensity and TC distributions. Moreover, by superimposing two orthogonal circular polarized perfect VBs, our breakthrough offers a super-capacity with at least 13 channels across a 3D parametric space, including morphology, polarization azimuth and ellipticity angle, namely super-capacity perfect vector vortex beams (SC-PVVBs). Furthermore, we have designed an optimized Dammann grating to facilitate an array of SC-PVVBs, thereby unleashing the full potentials across 13 channels/bits for multi-dimensional complex information communications. Our findings promise dense data transmission in an ultra-secure manner using VBs, opening up new avenues in super-capacity optical information technology in an integrated metasurface platform.

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing holography has emerged as a pivotal technology for high-capacity optical communication, encryption and display, but it requires multiple inputs for decoding and its security remain constrained due to the rotational symmetry of topological charge (TC) distribution in conventional OAM modes. Here, we introduce a general paradigm of OAM multiplexing holography that enables multi-channel holographic encoding using a single incident light. Our methodology leverages a discontinuous OAM with a spatially varying TC across the azimuth, which breaks the rotational symmetry and imposes angular selectivity for information retrieval. Notably, by rationally designing the TC distribution, the discontinuous OAM exhibits self-orthogonality at different rotation angles, laying the foundation for multiplexed holography. A modified weighted Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm is developed to calculate the holographic phase profile, which can then be encoded onto a pure geometry-phase metasurface. By further integrating different pairs of discontinuous OAMs, we successfully expand the channel capacity for holographic multiplexing, significantly advancing high-security and high-capacity optical information encryption. Our work establishes discontinuous OAM as a versatile platform for secure optical communications, high-density data storage, and dynamic holographic displays, bridging the gap between structured light manipulation and cryptographic robustness. Gao et al. realized a discontinuous orbital angular momentum metasurface holography, which enhances the channel capacity for holographic multiplexing and makes significant strides in high-security optical information encryption.

Metasurface-based optical beam scanning devices are gaining attention in optics and photonics for their potential to revolutionize light detection and ranging systems. However, achieving anomalous refraction with perfect efficiency (>99%) remains challenging, limiting the efficiency and field of view (FOV) of metasurface-based optical beam scanning devices. Here, we introduce a paradigm for achieving perfect anomalous refraction by augmenting longitudinal degrees of freedom arousing a multiple scattering process to optimize symmetry breaking. An all-dielectric quasi-three-dimensional subwavelength structure (Q3D-SWS), composed of a purposely designed multilayer film and a dielectric metasurface separated by a spacer, is proposed to eliminate reflection loss and spurious diffraction, achieving >99% anomalous refraction efficiency. By independently rotating two cascaded Q3D-SWSs, we experimentally showcase half-space optical beam scanning, achieving a FOV of 144° × 144°, with a maximum efficiency exceeding 86%. Our results open new avenues for high-efficiency metasurfaces and advances applications in light detection and ranging systems. The authors introduce an exciting paradigm for achieving perfect anomalous refraction using an all-dielectric quasi–three-dimensional subwavelength structure and demonstrate half-space beam scanning.