The generation of rapidly tunable Optical Vortex (OV) beams is one of the most demanding research areas of the present era as they possess Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) with additional degrees of freedom that can be exploited to enhance signal-carrying capacity by using mode division multiplexing and information encoding in optical communication. Particularly, rapidly tunable OAM devices at a fixed wavelength in the telecom band stir extensive interest among researchers for both classical and quantum applications. This article demonstrates the realistic design of a Si-integrated photonic device for rapidly tunable OAM wave generation at a 1550-nm wavelength by using an ultra-low-loss Phase Change Material (PCM) embedded with a Si-ring resonator with angular gratings. Different OAM modes are achieved by tuning the effective refractive index using rapid electrical switching of Sb2Se3 film from amorphous to crystalline states and vice versa. The generation of OAM waves relies on a traveling wave modulation of the refractive index of the micro-ring, which breaks the degeneracy of oppositely oriented whispering gallery modes. The proposed device is capable of producing rapidly tunable OV beams, carrying different OAM modes by using electrically controllable switching of ultra-low-loss PCM Sb2Se3.
We develop a thermally tunable hybrid photonic platform comprising gallium arsenide (GaAs) photonic crystal cavities, silicon nitride (SiN$_x$) grating couplers and waveguides, and chromium (Cr) microheaters on an integrated photonic chip. The GaAs photonic crystal cavities are evanescently connected to a common bus waveguide, separating the computation and communication layers. The microheaters are designed to continuously and reversibly tune distant photonic crystal cavities to a common resonance. This architecture can be implemented in a coherent optical network for dedicated optical comput…
In this paper, a new design of optical delay line based on coupled ring resonators in photonic crystals is proposed and analyzed by means of numerical simulation in CST Microwave Studio. The performance of the proposed photonic crystal ring resonator (PhCRR) based coupled resonant optical waveguide (CROW) is compared to: point-defect cavity based coupled cavity waveguides (CCW) in photonic crystal. microring resonator (MRR) based CROW. The suggested design addresses compactness issues of the MRR CROW while offering normalized delay values better than CCW and comparable to MRR CROW. The PhCRR C…
We propose the use of silicon graphene waveguides to implement a tunable broadband microwave photonics phase shifte based on integrated ring cavities. Numerical computation results show the feasibility for broadband operation over 40 GHz bandwidth and full 360 degree radiofrequency phase-shift with a modest voltage excursion of 0.12 volt.
Low-noise frequency conversion of single photons is a critical tool in establishing fibre-based quantum networks. We show that a single photonic crystal fibre can achieve frequency conversion by Bragg-scattering four-wave mixing of source photons from an ultra-broad wavelength range by engineering a symmetric group velocity profile. Furthermore, we discuss how pump tuning can mitigate realistic discrepancies in device fabrication. This enables a single highly adaptable frequency conversion interface to link disparate nodes in a quantum network via the telecoms band.
We realize quantum gates for path qubits with a high-speed, polarization-independent and tunable beam splitter. Two electro-optical modulators act in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer as high-speed phase shifters and rapidly tune its splitting ratio. We test its performance with heralded single photons, observing a polarization-independent interference contrast above 95%. The switching time is about 5.6 ns, and a maximal repetition rate is 2.5 MHz. We demonstrate tunable feed-forward operations of a single-qubit gate of path-encoded qubits and a two-qubit gate via measurement-induced interaction b…
Recent developments in the field of photonic spin Hall effect (SHE) offer new opportunities for advantageous measurement of the optical parameters (refractive index, thickness, etc.) of nanostructures and enable spin-based photonics applications in the future. However, it remains a challenge to develop a tunable photonic SHE with any desired spin-dependent splitting for generation and manipulation of spin-polarized photons. Here, we demonstrate experimentally a scheme to realize the photonic SHE tunably by tailoring the space-variant Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP). It is shown that light beams…
The photonic hook, a beam that can propagate along a curved path, has attracted wide attention since its inception and experimental confirmation. In this paper, we propose a new type of structure, which was made by a hollow microcylinder and a Janus-shaped liquid column of two insoluble filling liquids, for producing photonic hook of easily tunable properties and long length. The E^2 field intensity distribution characteristics and formation mechanism of the photonic hook are studied by analyzing the energy flow using the finite element method. The profile and properties of the photonic hook c…
We demonstrate an RF photonic fractional Hilbert transformer based on an integrated Kerr micro-comb source featuring a record low free spectral range of 48.9 GHz, yielding 75 microcomb lines across the C-band. By programming and shaping the comb lines according to calculated tap weights, we demonstrate that the Hilbert transformer can achieve tunable bandwidths ranging from 1.2 to 15.3 GHz, switchable centre frequencies from baseband to 9.5 GHz, and arbitrary fractional orders. We experimentally characterize the RF amplitude and phase response of the tunable bandpass and lowpass Hilbert transf…
We demonstrate a continuously RF tunable orthogonally polarized optical single sideband (OP-OSSB) generator based on dual cascaded micro-ring resonators. By splitting the input double sideband signal into an orthogonally polarized carrier and lower sideband via TE- and TM-polarized MRRs, an OP-OSSB signal is generated. A large tuning range of the optical carrier to sideband ratio of up to 57.3 dB is achieved by adjusting the polarization angle of the input light. The operation RF frequency of the OP-OSSB generator can be continuously tuned with a 21.4 GHz range via independent thermal control …
The exploration of binary valley degree of freedom in topological photonic systems has inspired many intriguing optical phenomena such as photonic Hall effect, robust delay lines, and perfect out-coupling refraction. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the tunability of light flow in a valley photonic crystal waveguide. By continuously controlling the phase difference of microwave monopolar antenna array, the flow of light can split into different directions according to the charily of phase vortex, and the splitting ratio varies smoothly from 0.9 to 0.1. Topological valley transport o…
We demonstrate the first functional signal processing device based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in a silicon nanowire. We use only 1 dB of on-chip SBS gain to create an RF photonic notch filter with 48 dB of suppression, 98 MHz linewidth, and 6 GHz frequency tuning. This device has potential applications in on-chip microwave signal processing and establishes the foundation for the first CMOS-compatible high performance RF photonic filter.
The ever-increasing demand for high speed and large bandwidth has made photonic systems a leading candidate for the next generation of telecommunication and radar technologies. The photonic platform enables high performance while maintaining a small footprint and provides a natural interface with fiber optics for signal transmission. However, producing sharp, narrow-band filters that are competitive with RF components has remained challenging. In this paper, we demonstrate all-silicon RF-photonic multi-pole filters with $\sim100\times$ higher spectral resolution than previously possible in sil…
Tunable photonic elements at the surface of an optical fiber with piezoelectric core are proposed and analyzed theoretically. These elements are based on whispering gallery modes whose propagation along the fiber is fully controlled by nanoscale variation of the effective fiber radius, which can be tuned by means of a piezoelectric actuator embedded into the core. The developed theory allows one to express the introduced effective radius variation through the shape of the actuator and the voltage applied to it. In particular, the design of a miniature tunable optical delay line and a miniature…
We present the controllability capabilities for the limit cycles of an extremely tunable photonic oscillator, consisting of two coupled semiconductor lasers. We show that this system supports stable limit cycles with frequencies ranging from a few to more than a hundred GHz that are characterized by a widely varying degree of asymmetry between the oscillations of the two lasers. These dynamical features are directly controllable via differential pumping as well as optical frequency detuning of the two lasers, suggesting a multi-functional oscillator for chip-scale radio-frequency photonics app…
A plasmonic nanostructure conceived with periodic layers of a doped semiconductor and passive semiconductor is shown to generate spontaneously surface plasmon polaritons thanks to its periodic nature. The nanostructure is demonstrated to behave as an effective material modeled by a simple dielectric function of ionic-crystal type, and possesses a fully tunable photonic band gap, with widths exceeding 50%, in the region extending from mid-infra-red to Tera-Hertz.
Materials with extreme photonic properties such as maximum diffuse reflectance, high albedo, or tunable band gaps are essential in many current and future photonic devices and coatings. While photonic crystals, periodic anisotropic structures, are well established, their disordered counterparts, photonic glasses (PGs), are less understood despite their most interesting isotropic photonic properties. Here, we introduce a controlled high index model PG system. It is made of monodisperse spherical TiO$_2$ colloids to exploit strongly resonant Mie scattering for optimal turbidity. We report spectr…
We present a high-speed wavelength tunable photonic crystal fiber-based source capable of generating tunable femtosecond solitons in the infrared region. Through measurements and numerical simulation, we show that both the pulsewidth and the spectral width of the output pulses remain nearly constant over the entire tuning range from 860 to 1160 nm. This remarkable behavior is observed even when pump pulses are heavily chirped (7400 fs^2), which allows to avoid bulky compensation optics, or the use of another fiber, for dispersion compensation usually required by the tuning device.
Recent advances in the processing of thin-film LNOI have enabled low-loss photonic integrated circuits, modulators with improved half-wave voltage, electro-optic frequency combs and novel on-chip electro-optic devices, with applications ranging from 5G telecommunication and microwave photonics to microwave-to-optical quantum interfaces. Lithium niobate integrated photonic circuits could equally be the basis of integrated narrow-linewidth frequency-agile lasers. Pioneering work on polished lithium niobate crystal resonators has led to the development of electrically tunable narrow-linewidth las…
We demonstrate that multiple higher-order topological transitions can be triggered via the continuous change of the geometry in kagome photonic crystals composed of three dielectric rods. By tuning a single geometry parameter, the photonic corner and edge states emerge or disappear with the higher-order topological transitions. Two distinct higher-order topological insulator phases and a normal insulator phase are revealed. Their topological indices are obtained from symmetry representations. A photonic analog of fractional corner charge is introduced to distinguish the two higher-order topolo…
In this letter, we report on numerical study, fabrication and experimental observations of tunable photonic nanojet and photonic hook. Here, the curved photonic nanojets (photonic hooks) are generated by single mesoscale microcylinder that we fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), upon its boundary illumination and adjustable area at an incident wavelength of λ = 405 nm. Experimental observations were conducted for PDMS microcylinder of diameter d = 5 μm deposited on a silicon substrate with the aluminum mask. Measurements were performed with a scanning optical microscope. Our experiment…
We identify different types of the photonic band gaps (PBGs) of two dimensional magnetic photonic crystals (MPCs) consisting of arrays of magnetic cylinders and study the different tunability (by an external static magnetic field) of these PBGs. One type of the band gaps comes from infinitely degenerate flat bands and is closely related to those in the study of plasmonics. In addition, such PBGs are magnetically tunable and robust against position disorder. We calcualte the transmission of the PBG's and found excellent agreement with the results of the photonic band structure calculation. Posi…
We exploit theoretically the occurrence and tunability of photonic Bloch oscillations (PBOs) in one-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) containing nonlinear composites. Because of the enhanced third-order nonlinearity (Kerr type nonlinearity) of composites, photons undergo oscillations inside tilted photonic bands, which are achieved by the application of graded external pump electric fields on such PCs, varying along the direction perpendicular to the surface of layers. The tunability of PBOs (including amplitude and period) is readily achieved by changing the field gradient. With an appropri…
We demonstrated a tunable temporal gap based on simultaneous fast and slow light in electro-optic photonic crystals. The light experiences an anomalous dispersion near the transmission center and a normal dispersion away from the center, where it can be accelerated and slowed down, respectively. We also obtained the switch between fast and slow light by adjusting the external electric filed. The observed largest temporal gap is 541 ps, which is crucial in practical event operation inside the gap. The results offer a new solution for temporal cloak.
We report a novel approach to the design and implementation of a tunable cavity on an optical nanofiber (ONF). The key point is to create a composite photonic crystal cavity (CPCC), by combining an ONF and a chirped period defect mode grating. Using numerical simulations we design the CPCC with low scattering loss while tuning the cavity resonance wavelength of \pm10 nm around the designed wavelength. We experimentally demonstrate the tunability of the CPCC, showing good agreement with the simulation results. Our results lay the foundation for a versatile platform for ONF cavity-quantum-electr…
We integrate about 100 single Cadmium Selenide semiconductor nanowires in self-standing Silicon Nitride photonic crystal cavities in a single processing run. Room temperature measurements reveal a single narrow emission linewidth, corresponding to a Q-factor as large as 5000. By varying the structural parameters of the photonic crystal, the peak wavelength is tuned, thereby covering the entire emission spectral range of the active material. A very large spectral range could be covered by heterogeneous integration of different active materials.
We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a planar silicon photonic crystal cavity in which large position-squared optomechanical coupling is realized. The device consists of a double-slotted photonic crystal structure in which motion of a central beam mode couples to two high-Q optical modes localized around each slot. Electrostatic tuning of the structure is used to controllably hybridize the optical modes into supermodes which couple in a quadratic fashion to the motion of the beam. From independent measurements of the anti-crossing of the optical modes and of the optical …
Tunable lasers emitting at a 2-3 $μ$m wavelength range and compatible with photonic integration platforms are of great interest for sensing applications. To this end, combining GaSb-based semiconductor gain chips with Si$_3$N$_4$ photonic integrated circuits offers an attractive platform. Herein, we exploit the low-loss features of Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides and demonstrate a hybrid laser comprising a GaSb gain chip with an integrated tunable Si$_3$N$_4$ Vernier mirror. At room temperature, the laser exhibited a maximum output power of 15 mW and a tuning range of 80 nm (1937-2017 nm). The low-loss…
We demonstrate a novel artificial optical material, a photonic hyper-crystal, which combines the most interesting features of hyperbolic metamaterials and photonic crystals. Similar to hyperbolic metamaterials, photonic hyper-crystals exhibit broadband divergence in their photonic density of states due to the lack of usual diffraction limit on the photon wave vector. On the other hand, similar to photonic crystals, hyperbolic dispersion law of extraordinary photons is modulated by forbidden gaps near the boundaries of photonic Brillouin zones. Three dimensional self-assembly of photonic hyper-…
A solid state emitter coupled to a photonic crystal cavity exhibits increased photon emission into a single frequency mode. However, current designs for photonic crystal cavities coupled to quantum emitters have three main problems: emitters are placed near surfaces that can degrade their optical properties, the cavity fluorescence cannot be collected into a single useful mode for further routing, and post-fabrication tuning is not currently possible in a stable and reversible manner for each node individually. In this paper, we introduce a hybrid cavity design with minimal fabrication of the …
The global structure of the Isochrons and the corresponding Phase Response Curves are, for the first time, investigated and numerically computed for the fundamental photonic oscillator consisted of an Optically Injected Laser. Their crucial role in the synchronization dynamics under a periodic modulation of the injection beam is shown, along with their capability for providing conditions for stable phase-locking and periodic outputs with discrete equidistant spectra in the form of frequency combs.
We report the realization of tunable spin-dependent splitting in intrinsic photonic spin Hall effect. By breaking the rotational symmetry of a cylindrical vector beam, the intrinsic vortex phases that the two spin components of the vector beam carries, which is similar to the geometric Pancharatnam-Berry phase, is no longer continuous in the azimuthal direction, and leads to observation of spin accumulation at the opposite edge of the beam. Due to the inherent nature of the phase and independency of light-matter interaction, the observed photonic spin Hall effect is intrinsic. Modulating the t…
Spherical colloids arranged in a crystalline order are known to produce structural colors. The intensity and brilliance of such photonic crystals require high size-monodispersity of the colloids, a low number of lattice defects and disorder, as well as a relatively large refractive index contrast between the scattering colloids and the continuous background. Here we present the unexpected photonic properties of aqueous suspensions of charge-stabilized, 186 nm large, fluorinated colloids with a refractive index of 1.37. Employing reflectivity, optical observation, small angle x-ray scattering m…
Simulations of propagation of light beams in specially designed multilayer semiconductor structures (one-dimensional photonic crystals) with embedded quantum wells reveal characteristic optical properties of resonant hyperbolic metamaterials. A strong dependence of the refraction angle and the optical beam spread on the exciton radiative lifetime is revealed. We demonstrate the strong negative refraction of light and the control of the group velocity of light by an external bias through its effect upon the exciton radiative properties.
We propose to utilize symmetry-protected zero modes of a photonic lattice to realize a single-mode, fixed-frequency, and spatially tunable laser. These properties are the consequence of the underlying non-Hermitian particle-hole symmetry, with which the energy spectrum satisfies $\varepsilon_m=-\varepsilon_n^*$. Unlike in the Hermitian case, the symmetric phase of particle-hole symmetry is no longer restricted to $\varepsilon=0$ but extends along the imaginary-$\varepsilon$ axis, which is set by the single-cavity frequency and symmetry-protected against position and coupling disorder of the ph…
We investigate the effect of tunable optical feedback on a commercial DFB laser edge coupled to a Silicon Photonics planar integrated circuit in which a tunable reflector has been implemented by means of a ring resonator based add-drop multiplexer. Controlled optical feedback allows for fine-tuning of the laser oscillation frequency. Under certain conditions it also allows suppression of bifurcation modes triggered by reflections occurring elsewhere on the chip. A semi-analytical model describing laser dynamics under combined optical feedback from the input facet of the edge coupler and from t…
Effect of 1-D photonic crystals on optical transmission of VO2 is studied by depositing thin films of VO2 nanoparticles on SiO2/TiO2 distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) in the near infrared (IR) spectrum as per earlier theoretical predictions of J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 51 375102 (2018). Monoclinic VO2 nanoparticles with tuned crystallinity were synthesized by a facile solution processing method. Moderately crystalline (MC) and highly crystalline (HC) VO2 nanostructures were obtained by varying its synthesis temperature and post growth annealing conditions. Both MC VO2 and HC VO2 films exhibit e…
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a tunable band-notched line-defect waveguide in a surface-wave photonic crystal, which consists of a straight line-defect waveguide and side-coupled defect cavities. A tunable narrow stopband can be observed in the broadband transmission spectra. We also demonstrate that both the filtering levels and filtering frequencies of the band-notched line-defect waveguide can be conveniently tuned through changing the total number and the pillar height of the side-coupled defect cavities. The band-notch function is based on the idea that the propagating surface…
Based on the interplay between photoionization and Raman effect in gas-filled photonic crystal fibers, we propose a new optical device to control frequency-conversion of ultrashort pulses. By tuning the input-pulse energy, the output spectrum can be either down-converted, up-converted, or even frequency-shift compensated. For low input energies, Raman effect is dominant and leads to a redshift that increases linearly during propagation. For larger pulse energies, photoionization starts to take over the frequency conversion process, and induces a strong blueshift. We have found also that the fi…
We study the Aharonov-Bohm caging effect in a one-dimensional lattice of theta-shaped units defining a chain of interconnected plaquettes, each one threaded by two synthetic flux lines. In the proposed system, light trapping results from the destructive interference of waves propagating along three arms, this implies that the caging effect is tunable and it can be controlled by changing the tunnel couplings $J$. These features reflect on the diffraction pattern allowing to establish a clear connection between the lattice topology and the resulting AB interference.
We study tunable refraction of light in one-dimensional periodic lattices induced optically in a photorefractive crystal. We observe experimentally both positive and negative refraction of beams which selectively excite the first or second spectral bands of the periodic lattice, and demonstrate tunability of the output beam position by dynamically adjusting the lattice depth. At higher laser intensities, the beam broadening due to diffraction can be suppressed through nonlinear self-focusing while preserving the general steering properties.
Sub-milliwatt threshold power and tunable-bias all-optical nonlinear activation function using vanadium dioxide for wavelength-division multiplexing photonic neural networks
Flexible microelectronics has shown tremendous promise in a broad spectrum of applications, especially those that cannot be addressed by conventional microelectronics in rigid materials and constructions1-3. These unconventional yet important applications range from flexible consumer electronics to conformal sensor arrays and biomedical devices. A recent successful paradigm shift in implementing flexible electronics is to physically transfer and bond highly integrated devices made in high-quality, crystalline semiconductor materials on to plastic materials4-8. Here we demonstrate a flexible fo…
Photonic torons, topological phase transition and tunable spin monopoles
Harbin University of Science and Technology（哈尔滨理工大学）；Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学）；National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学）；Stanford University（斯坦福大学）
Room-temperature polariton repulsion and ultra-strong coupling for a non-trivial topological one-dimensional tunable Fibonacci-conjugated porous-Silicon photonic quasi-crystal showing quasi bound-states-in-the-continuum
We experimentally demonstrate control of the rate of spontaneous emission in a tunable hybrid photonic system that consists of two canonical building blocks for spontaneous emission control, an optical antenna and a mirror, each providing a modification of the local density of optical states (LDOS).We couple fluorophores to a plasmonic antenna to create a superemitter with an enhanced decay rate. In a superemitter analog of the seminal Drexhage experiment we probe the LDOS of a nanomechanically approached mirror. Due to the electrodynamic interaction of the antenna with its own mirror image th…
Topological photonic insulators pave the way toward efficient integrated photonic devices with minimized scattering losses. Optical properties of the majority of topological structures proposed to date are fixed by design such that no changes to their performance can be made once the device has been fabricated. However, tunability is important for many applications, including modulators, switches, or optical buffers. Therefore, we propose a straightforward way for the dynamic control of transmission in a silicon-based topological photonic crystal enabled by all-optical free-carrier excitation …
Electro-optical control of on-chip photonic devices is an essential tool for efficient integrated photonics. Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) is an emerging platform for on-chip photonics due to its large electro-optic coefficient and high nonlinearity [1]. Integrating quantum emitters into LNOI would extend their versatile use in classic photonics to quantum computing and communication [2, 3]. Here, we incorporate single rare-earth ions (REI) quantum emitters in electro-optical tunable lithium niobite (LN) thin films and demonstrate control of LN microcavities coupled to REI over a frequen…
