Understanding how complex systems respond to change is of fundamental importance in the natural sciences. There is particular interest in systems whose classical newtonian motion becomes chaotic as an applied perturbation grows. The transition to chaos usually occurs by the gradual destruction of stable orbits in parameter space, in accordance with the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theorem--a cornerstone of nonlinear dynamics that explains, for example, gaps in the asteroid belt. By contrast, 'non-KAM' chaos switches on and off abruptly at critical values of the perturbation frequency. This type of dynamics has wide-ranging implications in the theory of plasma physics, tokamak fusion, turbulence, ion traps, and quasicrystals. Here we realize non-KAM chaos experimentally by exploiting the quantum properties of electrons in the periodic potential of a semiconductor superlattice with an applied voltage and magnetic field. The onset of chaos at discrete voltages is observed as a large increase in the current flow due to the creation of unbound electron orbits, which propagate through intricate web patterns in phase space. Non-KAM chaos therefore provides a mechanism for controlling the electrical conductivity of a condensed matter device: its extreme sensitivity could find applications in quantum electronics and photonics.

We present dye-doped polymer nanoparticles that are able to detect mercury in aqueous solution at parts per billion levels via fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The nanoparticles are prepared by reprecipitation of highly fluorescent conjugated polymers in water and are stable in aqueous suspension. They are doped with rhodamine spirolactam dyes that are nonfluorescent until they encounter mercury ions, which promote an irreversible reaction that converts the dyes to fluorescent rhodamines. The rhodamine dyes act as FRET acceptors for the fluorescent nanoparticles, and the ratio of nanoparticle-to-rhodamine fluorescence intensities functions as a ratiometric fluorescence chemodosimeter for mercury. The light harvesting capability of the conjugated polymer nanoparticles enhances the fluorescence intensity of the rhodamine dyes by a factor of 10, enabling sensitive detection of mercury ions in water at levels as low as 0.7 parts per billion.

We investigate the electrical and optical properties of GaAs/AlAs superlattices (SLs) in which a thin (⩽1.2 monolayers) InAs layer is inserted in the central plane of each GaAs quantum well. The InAs layer modifies the structure of the SL unit cell and provides an additional design parameter for tailoring the energy of the lowest miniband and the size of the minigap. We exploit this effect to enhance electron injection from a doped contact layer into the first miniband and to inhibit interminiband coupling.

CePO(4) nanorods decorated with QDs (QDs@CePO(4)) can be prepared in a sequential, aqueous procedure under continuous flow using a rotating tube processor and a narrow channel reactor. The emission from the QD@CePO(4) is tunable from green to red by simply adjusting the feeding rate, which in turn regulates the particle size of the QDs. The Ce(3+) ions in the QDs@CePO(4) serve as an efficient fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donor, effectively enlarging the Stokes shift of the QDs.