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These articles were highlighted on the covers of the Advanced Optical Materials August issue:

Phosphors
Inorganic phosphors have potential for advanced solid-state lighting, but their synthesis is complex. J. Jiang, H. Jiang, and co-workers demonstrate a simple solid-state reaction for the synthesis of the orthosilicate phosphor Ba₉Lu₂Si₆O₂₄:Ce³⁺, which shows an efficient blue–green emission under 400 nm radiation. Its internal quantum efficiency (QE) is shown to reach 82%, and 94% of the room-temperature internal QE is maintained at 160 °C.

Metamaterials
Anisotropic metamaterial emitters can serve a key role in highly efficient radiative cooling. Described by M. Gu and co-workers, they are designed to selectively radiate within the atmospheric transparency window and minimize absorption of atmospheric radiation outside the window. Using these unique radiative properties, a device realized with these artificial emitters has the ability to cool down 12 °C below the ambient temperature.

Spin Hall Effect
The giant photonic Spin Hall effect is experimentally demonstrated with nearly 100% efficiency by S. Sun, L. Zhou, and co-workers (Fudan University, China). When linearly polarized light strikes at certain reflective Pancharatnam–Berry metasurfaces designed based on a general criterion, the reflected wave splits into two, spatially separated beams with different circular polarizations. This finding will stimulate many interesting applications based on the high-efficiency manipulation of the spin of light.