We present an experimental demonstration of heralded single photons prepared in pure quantum states from a parametric down-conversion source. It is shown that, through controlling the modal structure of the photon pair emission, one can generate pairs in factorable states and thence eliminate the need for spectral filters in multiple-source interference schemes. Indistinguishable heralded photons were generated in two independent spectrally engineered sources and Hong-Ou-Mandel interference observed between them without spectral filters. The measured visibility of 94.4% sets a minimum bound on the mean photon purity.

The first microscopic artificial walker equipped with liquid‐crystalline elastomer muscle is reported. The walker is fabricated by direct laser writing, is smaller than any known living terrestrial creatures, and is capable of several autonomous locomotions on different surfaces.

The iris, found in many animal species, is a biological tissue that can change the aperture (pupil) size to regulate light transmission into the eye in response to varying illumination conditions. The self-regulation of the eye lies behind its autofocusing ability and large dynamic range, rendering it the ultimate "imaging device" and a continuous source of inspiration in science. In optical imaging devices, adjustable apertures play a vital role as they control the light exposure, the depth of field, and optical aberrations of the systems. Tunable irises demonstrated to date require external control through mechanical actuation, and are not capable of autonomous action in response to changing light intensity without control circuitry. A self-regulating artificial iris would offer new opportunities for device automation and stabilization. Here, this paper reports the first iris-like, liquid crystal elastomer device that can perform automatic shape-adjustment by reacting to the incident light power density. Similar to natural iris, the device closes under increasing light intensity, and upon reaching the minimum pupil size, reduces the light transmission by a factor of seven. The light-responsive materials design, together with photoalignment-based control over the molecular orientation, provides a new approach to automatic, self-regulating optical systems based on soft smart materials.

Liquid crystal elastomers are among the best candidates for artificial muscles, and the materials of choice when constructing microscale robotic systems. Recently, significant efforts are dedicated to designing stimuli‐responsive actuators that can reproduce the shape‐change of soft bodies of animals by means of proper external energy source. However, transferring material deformation efficiently into autonomous robotic locomotion remains a challenge. This paper reports on a miniature inching robot fabricated from a monolithic liquid crystal elastomer film, which upon visible‐light excitation is capable of mimicking caterpillar locomotion on different substrates like a blazed grating and a paper surface. The motion is driven by spatially uniform visible light with relatively low intensity, rendering the robot “human‐friendly,” i.e., operational also on human skin. The design paves the way toward light‐driven, soft, mobile microdevices capable of operating in various environments, including the close proximity of humans.

For decades, roboticists have focused their efforts on rigid systems that enable programmable, automated action, and sophisticated control with maximal movement precision and speed. Meanwhile, material scientists have sought compounds and fabrication strategies to devise polymeric actuators that are small, soft, adaptive, and stimuli-responsive. Merging these two fields has given birth to a new class of devices-soft microrobots that, by combining concepts from microrobotics and stimuli-responsive materials research, provide several advantages in a miniature form: external, remotely controllable power supply, adaptive motion, and human-friendly interaction, with device design and action often inspired by biological systems. Herein, recent progress in soft microrobotics is highlighted based on light-responsive liquid-crystal elastomers and polymer networks, focusing on photomobile devices such as walkers, swimmers, and mechanical oscillators, which may ultimately lead to flying microrobots. Finally, self-regulated actuation is proposed as a new pathway toward fully autonomous, intelligent light robots of the future.

The paper describes 3D structures made of liquid-crystalline elastomer (LCE) - rings, woodpiles, etc. - fabricated by two-photon absorption direct laser writing with sub-micrometer resolution while maintaining the desired molecular orientation. These results lay the foundations for creating 3D, micrometer-sized, light-controlled LCE structures.

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Manipulation of quantum interference requires that the system under control remains coherent, avoiding (or at least postponing) the phase randomization that can ensue from coupling to an uncontrolled environment. We show that closed-loop coherent control can be used to mitigate the rate of quantum dephasing in a gas-phase ensemble of potassium dimers (K2), which acts as a model system for testing the general concepts of controlling decoherence. Specifically, we adaptively shaped the light pulse used to prepare a vibrational wave packet in electronically excited K2, with the amplitude of quantum beats in the fluorescence signal used as an easily measured surrogate for the purpose of optimizing coherence. The optimal pulse increased the beat amplitude from below the noise level to well above it, and thereby increased the coherence life time as compared with the beats produced by a transform-limited pulse. Closed-loop methods can thus effectively identify states that are robust against dephasing without any previous information about the system-environment interaction.