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Li H, Yin S, Alù A. Nonreciprocity and Faraday Rotation at Time Interfaces. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:173901. [PMID: 35570448 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.173901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Nonreciprocity is critically important in modern wave technologies, yet its general principles and practical implementations continue to raise intense research interest, in particular in the context of broken reciprocity based on spatiotemporal modulation. Abrupt changes in time of the electromagnetic properties of a material have also been shown to replace spatial boundaries, supporting highly unusual wave-matter interactions in so-called time metamaterials. Here, we introduce nonreciprocity for temporal boundaries, demonstrating Faraday polarization rotation in a magnetoplasma with material properties abruptly switched in time. Our findings open new opportunities for time metamaterials, yielding new avenues for nonreciprocity with broad applicability for wave engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanan Li
- Photonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA
- School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Shixiong Yin
- Photonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering, City College of The City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA
| | - Andrea Alù
- Photonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering, City College of The City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA
- Physics Program, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10016, USA
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Yang P, Xia X, He H, Li S, Han X, Zhang P, Li G, Zhang P, Xu J, Yang Y, Zhang T. Realization of Nonlinear Optical Nonreciprocity on a Few-Photon Level Based on Atoms Strongly Coupled to an Asymmetric Cavity. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 123:233604. [PMID: 31868453 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.123.233604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Optical nonreciprocity is important in photonic information processing to route the optical signal or prevent the reverse flow of noise. By adopting the strong nonlinearity associated with a few atoms in a strongly coupled cavity QED system and an asymmetric cavity configuration, we experimentally demonstrate the nonreciprocal transmission between two counterpropagating light fields with extremely low power. The transmission of 18% is achieved for the forward light field, and the maximum blocking ratio for the reverse light is 30 dB. Though the transmission of the forward light can be maximized by optimizing the impedance matching of the cavity, it is ultimately limited by the inherent loss of the scheme. This nonreciprocity can even occur on a few-photon level due to the high optical nonlinearity of the system. The working power can be flexibly tuned by changing the effective number of atoms strongly coupled to the cavity. The idea and result can be applied to optical chips as optical diodes by using fiber-based cavity QED systems. Our work opens up new perspectives for realizing optical nonreciprocity on a few-photon level based on the nonlinearities of atoms strongly coupled to an optical cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Xiuwen Xia
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Jinggangshan University, Jian, Jiangxi 343009, China
| | - Hai He
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Shaokang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Xing Han
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China
| | - Gang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Pengfei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Jinping Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structure Materials, School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Yaping Yang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro-Structure Materials, School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Tiancai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, and Institute of Opto-Electronics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
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Maayani S, Dahan R, Kligerman Y, Moses E, Hassan AU, Jing H, Nori F, Christodoulides DN, Carmon T. Flying couplers above spinning resonators generate irreversible refraction. Nature 2018; 558:569-572. [PMID: 29950624 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0245-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Creating optical components that allow light to propagate in only one direction-that is, that allow non-reciprocal propagation or 'isolation' of light-is important for a range of applications. Non-reciprocal propagation of sound can be achieved simply by using mechanical components that spin1,2. Spinning also affects de Broglie waves 3 , so a similar idea could be applied in optics. However, the extreme rotation rates that would be required, owing to light travelling much faster than sound, lead to unwanted wobbling. This wobbling makes it difficult to maintain the separation between the spinning devices and the couplers to within tolerance ranges of several nanometres, which is essential for critical coupling4,5. Consequently, previous applications of optical6-17 and optomechanical10,17-20 isolation have used alternative methods. In hard-drive technology, the magnetic read heads of a hard-disk drive fly aerodynamically above the rapidly rotating disk with nanometre precision, separated by a thin film of air with near-zero drag that acts as a lubrication layer 21 . Inspired by this, here we report the fabrication of photonic couplers (tapered fibres that couple light into the resonators) that similarly fly above spherical resonators with a separation of only a few nanometres. The resonators spin fast enough to split their counter-circulating optical modes, making the fibre coupler transparent from one side while simultaneously opaque from the other-that is, generating irreversible transmission. Our setup provides 99.6 per cent isolation of light in standard telecommunication fibres, of the type used for fibre-based quantum interconnects 22 . Unlike flat geometries, such as between a magnetic head and spinning disk, the saddle-like, convex geometry of the fibre and sphere in our setup makes it relatively easy to bring the two closer together, which could enable surface-science studies at nanometre-scale separations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shai Maayani
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Raphael Dahan
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Yuri Kligerman
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Eduard Moses
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel.,J-Rom, Haifa, Israel
| | - Absar U Hassan
- CREOL/College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Hui Jing
- Physics Department, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
| | - Franco Nori
- Physics Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako-shi, Japan
| | | | - Tal Carmon
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel.
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Peterson CW, Kim S, Bernhard JT, Bahl G. Synthetic phonons enable nonreciprocal coupling to arbitrary resonator networks. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaat0232. [PMID: 29888328 PMCID: PMC5993478 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat0232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Inducing nonreciprocal wave propagation is a fundamental challenge across a wide range of physical systems in electromagnetics, optics, and acoustics. Recent efforts to create nonreciprocal devices have departed from established magneto-optic methods and instead exploited momentum-based techniques such as coherent spatiotemporal modulation of resonators and waveguides. However, to date, the nonreciprocal frequency responses that these devices can achieve have been limited, mainly to either broadband or Lorentzian-shaped transfer functions. We show that nonreciprocal coupling between waveguides and resonator networks enables the creation of devices with customizable nonreciprocal frequency responses. We create nonreciprocal coupling through the action of synthetic phonons, which emulate propagating phonons and can scatter light between guided and resonant modes that differ in both frequency and momentum. We implement nonreciprocal coupling in microstrip circuits and experimentally demonstrate both elementary nonreciprocal functions such as isolation and gyration, as well as reconfigurable, higher-order nonreciprocal filters. Our results suggest nonreciprocal coupling as a platform for a broad class of customizable nonreciprocal systems, adaptable to all wave phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher W. Peterson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Seunghwi Kim
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Jennifer T. Bernhard
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Gaurav Bahl
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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Ringing phenomenon based measurement of weak mode-coupling strength in an optical microresonator. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17412. [PMID: 29234022 PMCID: PMC5727066 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16961-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
There is always a coupling between the degenerate clockwise (CW) and counter-clockwise (CCW) modes in a whisperinggallery- mode (WGM) optical microresonator, since the surface of the microresonator can not be perfectly smooth. It is important to measure this coupling strength in many applications. When the coupling strength is strong, the conventional method by observing mode splitting in the stationary spectrum can be used to measure its value. However, when the coupling strength is weak, the conventional method will not work. We experimentally demonstrate that the ringing phenomenon can be used to measure weak coupling strength between the CW and CCW modes in a WGM optical microresonator.
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Higher-Order Interactions in Quantum Optomechanics: Analytical Solution of Nonlinearity. PHOTONICS 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/photonics4040048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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