Now, Hyun Suk Wang and colleagues, from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have demonstrated a light-triggered depolymerization technique that provides a path to better plastic recycling (Science 387, 874–880; 2025). The feat was carried out for PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)), a plastic commercialized as plexiglass. With the aid of light, the plexiglass (left image) is broken down into its monomer (right image)

Two-dimensional materials have revolutionized the field of photonics by enabling the manipulation of light at the nanoscale. As their potential continues to grow, we can expect to see more innovative applications emerging in the future.

The correspondence “Increasing diversity in conference speaker programmes” by Polman and colleagues in the December issue of Nature Photonics1 targets an important and timely topic in science and engineering, and specifically in photonics, namely the underrepresentation of minority groups as speakers at conferences. In this piece, they use their collective voice in a call to action to shift underlying

Neuromorphic photonic systems mimicking biological neurons promise to boost the efficiency of light-based computing.

In this Focus issue we highlight a selection of recent developments in super-resolution microscopy.

Super-resolution microscopy offers valuable tools to tackle biological questions. Nature Photonics spoke with Markus Sauer, from the University of Würzburg, about the advantages and outstanding challenges of super-resolution microscopy for biological applications.

Now, Gabriele Pasquale and colleagues from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, University of Regensburg in Germany, and National Institute for Materials Science in Japan have investigated whether chirality-induced effects could provide a simpler, more direct way to detect spin polarization electrically. Specifically, they have developed vertical tunnel junctions using few-layer

The performance of super-resolution microscopy is continuously improving. Nature Photonics interviewed Stefan Hell, from the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, about key milestones in the field, current capabilities of MINFLUX and what remains to be excited about.

Correction to: Nature Photonics https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-022-01058-z, published online 25 August 2022.

Correction to: Nature Photonics https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-024-01588-8, published online 6 January 2025.

Now, Conrad Smart, Tanner Pearson, and colleagues at Cornell University have demonstrated a type of diffractive micro-optical device that is magnetically programmable and manoeuvrable (Science 386, 1031–1037; 2024). The structures, fabricated by using deep-ultraviolet lithography and electron beam lithography, along with various deposition and etching techniques, are composed of elements that span

Semiconductor sources of mid-infrared and terahertz radiation are now tackling an increasingly diverse range of applications.

Champion experimentalist of quantum optics and squeezed-light pioneer has sadly passed away.

On 7 June 2024, the United Nations proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

Sir Peter Knight, described as "one of the UK’s most influential scientists and leaders of scientific policy" by his peers, tells Nature Photonics about the many hats he is wearing now in pushing quantum research and technologies in the UK and beyond.