Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41620427›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Ultra-coherent meta-emitter tailors arbitrary thermal wavefront.

Rui Chen, Tianle Chen, Mengqi Liu, Xingsi Liu, Sen Zhang, Faizan Raza, Hongguang Dong, Yongdi Dang, Zejie Yu, Huan Hu and 3 more

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Rui ChenState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Tianle ChenState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Mengqi LiuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5958-6702
Xingsi LiuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-3967-5340
Sen ZhangState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Faizan RazaState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Hongguang DongState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Yongdi DangState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Zejie YuState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3067-3965
Huan HuZhejiang University-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute (ZJU-UIUC Institute), Zhejiang University, Haining, Zhejiang, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1317-5470
Jianbin XuDepartment of Electronic Engineering, Materials Science and Technology Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0509-9508
Cheng-Wei QiuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. chengwei.qiu@nus.edu.sg.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6605-500X
Yungui MaState Key Lab of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. yungui@zju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1859-1211

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 62405268National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 62475234, 62075196
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Conventional coherent light-field manipulation techniques inherently conflict with the spatiotemporal incoherence of thermal radiation sources. While recent advances in thermophotonics have facilitated directional thermal emission, arbitrary thermal wavefront control-a cornerstone for advanced functionalities like focusing and holography-remains an unaddressed challenge. Here, we report a generalized recipe of designing meta-emitters with lossy and lossless outer boundaries, that enables thermal emission with arbitrarily tailored wavefront. Lossy and lossless surfaces on two sides of the meta-emitter are synergistically coupled by a single-mode waveguide, transforming incoherent thermal photons to coherent surface waves for wavefront shaping functionalities. Designer surface mode of meta-emitter permits the independent optimization of photon lifetime and propagation length, thus enabling scalable spatial coherence engineering. For the proof of concept, we experimentally demonstrate near-diffraction-limited self-focusing emission, quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) high-quality thermal holography without speckle noise and spatial-multiplexed holography. Coupling optimization further suggests that spatial coherence exceeding 1000λ

Identifiers

PMID41620427
PMCPMC12963619

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.