物理学家们在纳米尺度下对光进行控制

物理学家们在纳米尺度下对光进行控制

欧洲的物理学家们揭示了一种可以在远小于激光波长的尺度下对激光的光强分布进行调控的技术。这种技术结合了脉冲成形和近场光学等手段。研究人员认为，这是将激光作为微小尺度下操作物质的工具这一研发进程中一个巨大的进步。

Physicists control light at the nanoscale (Mar 22)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/3/15
Physicists in Europe have unveiled a new technique that can control the
intensity distribution of laser pulses at dimensions that are much
smaller than the wavelength of the laser light. The method combines
pulse-shaping techniques with near-field optics and the researchers
claim that it is a major step forward in the development of laser-based
tools for the manipulation of matter on a very small length scales
(Nature 446 301).

自旋需要长时间来逐渐变慢

美国工程师们发现，在有机纳米导线构成的"自旋阀"中，电子自旋极其稳健。弗吉尼亚联邦大学和西西纳提大学的研究团队发现，这些导线中的电子自旋耗散时间起码比其它任何一个系统中的电子自旋耗散时间长1000倍。该结果意味着这些材料可能是用于自旋电子学――一种在电子线路、计算机或者其他装置里利用电子自旋来对信息进行编码的新兴研究领域――的理想选择。

Spins take their time to relax (Mar 22)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/3/16
Engineers in the US have discovered that the spin of electrons in
organic nanowire "spin valves" is extremely robust. A team of
researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of
Cincinnati have found that the "spin-relaxation time" in these wires is
at least 1000 times longer than that reported in any other system. The
result means that these materials could be ideal for use in spintronics,
an emerging field that exploits the spin of the electron to encode
information in electronic circuits, computers and other devices (Nature
Nanotechnology doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.64).

超级放大镜头让人看到从未见过的细节

美国的两个物理学家团队独立地创造出了第一台使用具有负折射系数的元材料的真正超级放大镜头。与传统镜头不同的是，超级镜头可以提供几乎无限分辨率的图像。这样，也许在某一天，能够通过它来实现蛋白质、病毒、DNA等的光学成像。

Magnifying superlenses show more detail than ever before (Mar 22)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/3/17
Two teams of physicists from the US have independently created the first
truly magnifying "superlenses" using metamaterials with a negative index
of refraction. Unlike conventional lenses, superlenses can provide
images of almost limitless resolution, and could one day enable the
optical imaging of proteins, viruses and DNA.