A honeycomb Floquet lattice with helically rotating waveguides and an interface separating two counter-propagating subdomains is analyzed. Two topologically protected localized waves propagate unidirectionally along the interface. Switching can occur when these interface modes reach the edge of the lattice and the light splits into waves traveling in two opposite directions. The incoming mode, traveling along the interface, can be routed entirely or partially along either lattice edge with the switching direction based on a suitable mixing of the interface modes.
We suggest a novel concept in the soliton switching based on the Bloch-wave filtering in periodic photonic structures. Taking a binary waveguide array as an example, we demonstrate that spatial solitons that belong to different spectral band gaps can be selectively reflected from or transmitted through an engineered defect, which acts as a low or high-pass filter for Bloch waves.
We address nonlinear signal switching between two low-index defect channels induced in periodic optical lattices. In contrast to conventional directional couplers, where the guiding mechanism is total internal reflection or refraction, in such Bragg-type coupler, the guidance is of a photonic-bandgap origin. The coupling length in the low-index coupler is controlled by the lattice parameters and by the channel spacing. In the nonlinear regime the Bragg-type coupler behaves as an all-optical switch, exhibiting a remarkable difference of switching power for focusing versus defocusing nonlinearit…
One of the challenges of the modern photonics is to develop all-optical devices enabling increased speed and energy efficiency for transmitting and processing information on an optical chip. It is believed that the recently suggested Parity-Time (PT) symmetric photonic systems with alternating regions of gain and loss can bring novel functionalities. In such systems, losses are as important as gain and, depending on the structural parameters, gain compensates losses. Generally, PT systems demonstrate nontrivial non-conservative wave interactions and phase transitions, which can be employed for…
We measure the nonlinear switching dynamics of an InP photonic crystal nanocavity for different pulse energies and wavelengths relative to the cavity resonance and observe saturation of the switching contrast and broadening of the switching window. The effects are analyzed by comparison with nonlinear coupled mode theory and explained in terms of large dynamical variations of the cavity resonance. The results are important for applications in optical signal processing and provide insight into the nonlinear optical processes that govern the dynamics of the refractive index and the absorption.
We present ultrafast optical switching experiments on 3D photonic band gap crystals. Switching the Si inverse opal is achieved by optically exciting free carriers by a two-photon process. We probe reflectivity in the frequency range of second order Bragg diffraction where the photonic band gap is predicted. We find good experimental switching conditions for free-carrier plasma frequencies between 0.3 and 0.7 times the optical frequency: we thus observe a large frequency shift of up to D omega/omega= 1.5% of all spectral features including the peak that corresponds to the photonic band gap. We …
Photonic hook is a high-intensity bent light focus with a proportional curvature to the wavelength of the incident light. Based on this unique light-bending phenomenon, a novel near-field photonic switch by means of a right-trapezoid dielectric Janus particle-lens embedded in the core of a planar waveguide is proposed for switching the photonic signals at two common optical communication wavelengths 1310 nm and 1550 nm by using numerical simulations. The signals at these two wavelengths can be guided to different routes according to their oppositely bent photonic hooks to realise wavelength se…
We present ultrafast all-optical switching measurements of Si woodpile photonic band gap crystals. The crystals are spatially homogeneously excited, and probed by measuring reflectivity over an octave in frequency (including the telecom range) as a function of time. After 300 fs, the complete stop band has shifted to higher frequencies as a result of optically excited free carriers. The switched state relaxes quickly with a time constant of 18 ps. We present a quantitative analysis of switched spectra with theory for finite photonic crystals. The induced changes in refractive index are well de…
We propose the design of 1D photonic crystals and microcavities in which fluorine-indium codoped cadmium oxide (FICO) nanocrystal based layers and layers of diarylethene-based polyester (pDTE) are alternated or embedded in a microcavity. The irradiation with UV light results in two different behaviours: i) it dopes the FICO nanocrystals inducing a blue shift of their plasmonic resonances; ii) it changes the real part of the refractive index of the photochromic pDTE polymer. These two behaviours are combined in the proposed photonic structures and can be useful for switchable filters and caviti…
We study the coupling between photonic molecules and waveguides in photonic crystal slab structures using finite-difference time-domain method and coupled mode theory. In a photonic molecule with two cavities, the coupling of cavity modes results in two super-modes with symmetric and anti-symmetric field distributions. When two super-modes are excited simultaneously, the energy of electric field oscillates between the two cavities. To excite and probe the energy oscillation, we integrate photonic molecule with two photonic crystal waveguides. In coupled structure, we find that the quality fact…
We present a systematic study of ultrafast all-optical switching of Si photonic band gap woodpile crystals using broadband tunable nondegenerate pump-probe spectroscopy. At pump-probe coincidence, we investigate the behavior the differential reflectivity at the blue edge of the stopband for a wide range of pump- and probe frequencies. Both dispersive and absorptive features are observed from the probe spectra at coincidence. As the pump frequency is tuned through half the electronic bandgap of Si, the magnitude of both these features increases. For the first time we unambiguously identify this…
We experimentally investigate the nonlinear dynamics of two coupled fiber ring resonators, coherently driven by a single laser beam. We comprehensively explore the optical switching arising when scanning the detuning of the undriven cavity, and show how the driven cavity detuning dramatically changes the resulting hysteresis cycle. By driving the photonic dimer out-of-equilibrium, we observe the occurrence of stable self-switching oscillations near avoided resonance crossings. All results agree well with the driven-dissipative Bose-Hubbard dimer model in the weakly coupled regime.
We demonstrate adiabatic wavelength shifting by electro-optic modulation using a p-i-n integrated high-Q photonic crystal nanocavity. The wavelength of the trapped light is adiabatically shifted by modulating the resonance of the cavity faster than the photon lifetime. The cavity resonance is changed by injecting electrons through a p-i-n junction to reduce the refractive index. In addition we employ adiabatic wavelength shifting in a demonstration of dynamic Q tuning by electro-optic modulation.
We analyze the resonant linear and nonlinear transmission through a photonic crystal waveguide side-coupled to a Kerr-nonlinear photonic crystal resonator. Firstly, we extend the standard coupled-mode theory analysis to photonic crystal structures and obtain explicit analytical expressions for the bistability thresholds and transmission coefficients which provide the basis for a detailed understanding of the possibilities associated with these structures. Next, we discuss limitations of standard coupled-mode theory and present an alternative analytical approach based on the effective discrete …
Here we propose a magnetophotonic structure for the layer-selective magnetization switching with ultrashort laser pulses of different wavelengths. It is based on a chirped magnetophotonic crystal (MPC) containing magnetic GdFeCo and nonmagnetic dielectric layers. At each operating wavelength the laser pulses heat up to necessary level only one GdFeCo layer that leads to its magnetization reversal without any impact on the magnetization of the other layers. Moreover, magneto-optical reading of the MPC magnetization state is discussed. Lateral dimensions of the considered MPC can be made small e…
We discuss soliton control in reconfigurable optically-induced photonic lattices created by three interfering beams. We reveal novel dynamical regimes for strongly localized solitons, including binary switching and soliton revivals through resonant wave mixing.
We report the experimental observation of the periodic switching of topological edge states between two dimerized fs-laser written waveguide arrays. Switching occurs due to the overlap of the modal fields of the edge states from topological forbidden gap, when they are simultaneously present in two arrays brought into close proximity. We found that the phenomenon occurs for both strongly and weakly localized edge states and that switching rate increases with decreasing spacing between the topological arrays. When topological arrays are brought in contact with nontopological ones, switching in …
Space division multiplexing using multicore fibers is becoming a more and more promising technology. In space-division multiplexing fiber network, the reconfigurable switch is one of the most critical components in network nodes. In this paper we for the first time demonstrate reconfigurable space-division multiplexing switching using silicon photonic integrated circuit, which is fabricated on a novel silicon-on-insulator platform with buried Al mirror. The silicon photonic integrated circuit is composed of a 7x7 switch and low loss grating coupler array based multicore fiber couplers. Thanks …
Focusing and guiding light into semiconductor nanostructures can deliver revolutionary concepts for photonic devices, which offer a practical pathway towards next-generation power-efficient optical networks. In this review, we consider the prospects for photonic switches using semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and photonic cavities which possess unique properties based on their low dimensionality. The optical nonlinearity of such photonic switches is theoretically analyzed by introducing the concept of a field enhancement factor. This approach reveals drastic improvement in both power-density a…
Photonic crystal (PC) coupled cavity waveguides (CCWs) with \textit{completely separated eigenfrequencies} (or supermodes) are investigated. Using a coupled mode theory, the properties of the supermodes, such as the electric field profiles, the eigenfrequencies (including the central frequencies and corresponding linewidths), and the quality factors (Qs) are expressed in very simple formulas, and these results agree well with those of ``exact'' numerical method. We also discuss the great differences between the supermodes and \textit{continuous modes}, which are described by tight binding (TB)…
We demonstrate ultrafast soliton-based nonlinear balancing of dual-core asymmetry in highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber at sub-nanojoule pulse energy level. The effect of fiber asymmetry was studied experimentally by selective excitation and monitoring of individual fiber cores at different wavelengths between 1500 nm and 1800 nm. Higher energy transfer rate to non-excited core was observed in the case of fast core excitation due to nonlinear asymmetry balancing of temporal solitons, which was confirmed by the dedicated numerical simulations based on the coupled generalized nonlinear Schr…
The authors study the ultrafast switching-on and -off of planar GaAs/AlAs microcavities. Up to 0.8% refractive index changes are achieved by optically exciting free carriers at 1720 nm and a pulse energy of 1.8 micro Joules. The cavity resonance is dynamically tracked by measuring reflectivity versus time delay with tunable laser pulses, and is found to shift by as much as 3.3 linewidths within a few picoseconds. The switching-off occurs with a decay time of around 50 ps. The authors derive the dynamic behavior of the carrier density and of the complex refractive index. They propose that the i…
The employment of magneto-optical materials to fabricate photonic crystals gives the unique opportunity to achieve optical tuning by applying a magnetic field. In this study we have simulated the transmission spectrum of a microcavity in which the Bragg reflectors are made with silica (SiO2) and yttria (Y2O3) and the defect layer is made with TGG (Tb3Ga5O12). We show that the application of an external magnetic field results in a tuning of the defect mode of the microcavity. In the simulations we have considered the wavelength dependence of the refractive indexes and the Verdet constants of th…
We describe an ultrafast time resolved pump-probe spectroscopy setup aimed at studying the switching of nanophotonic structures. Both fs pump and probe pulses can be independently tuned over broad frequency range between 3850 and 21050 cm$^{-1}$. A broad pump scan range allows a large optical penetration depth, while a broad probe scan range is crucial to study strongly photonic crystals. A new data acquisition method allows for sensitive pump-probe measurements, and corrects for fluctuations in probe intensity and pump stray light. We observe a tenfold improvement of the precision of the setu…
We performed non-degenerate pump-probe experiments on a GaAs/AlAs photonic structure. We switched the photonic properties using the optical Kerr effect and free carriers excited by three photon absorption. From these measurements we extracted the non-degenerate Kerr coefficients over a broad wavelength range and we extracted the three photon absorption coefficient for GaAs at three wavelengths in the near infrared. We show that the optical Kerr effect is large enough to switch a cavity resonance with a high \emph{Q} ($Q>1000$) photonic cavity.
This paper discusses free carrier generation by pulsed laser fields as a mechanism to switch the optical properties of semiconductor photonic crystals and bulk semiconductors on an ultrafast time scale. Requirements are set for the switching magnitude, the time-scale, the induced absorption as well as the spatial homogeneity, in particular for silicon at lambda= 1550 nm. Using a nonlinear absorption model, we calculate carrier depth profiles and define a homogeneity length l_hom. Homogeneity length contours are visualized in a plane spanned by the linear and two-photon absorption coefficients.…
The recent development of topological photonics has revealed a variety of intriguing phenomena such as Weyl degeneracy. However, topologically non-trivial degeneracy with higher dimension has not been reported in photonics. In this Letter, topologically charged photonic surface degeneracy in a helix structure possessing two-fold screw symmetry is demonstrated. Calculated Chern number and photonic Fermi arcs support topological phase of the surface degeneracy. We also show that the photonic system can work in both metamaterial and photonic crystal regime, which have an order of magnitude differ…
We report a very high precision interferometric sensor with resolution up to ~λ/1024, exploiting hollow photonic bandgap waveguide-based geometry for the first time. Here sensing has been measured by a complete switching in the direction of the outgoing beam, owing to transverse momentum oscillation phenomena. Using a 1.32 μm source and core-width of 7.25 μm, a complete switching cycle is obtained even due to a small change of ~1 nm in the core-width. Using hollow-core photonic bandgap waveguide, Talbot effect, revivals of the initial phase, oscillation in the transverse momentum along with mu…
Reconfigurable photonic systems featuring minimal power consumption are crucial for integrated optical devices in real-world technology. Current active devices available in foundries, however, use volatile methods to modulate light, requiring a constant supply of power and significant form factors. Essential aspects to overcoming these issues are the development of nonvolatile optical reconfiguration techniques which are compatible with on-chip integration with different photonic platforms and do not disrupt their optical performances. In this paper, a solution is demonstrated using an optoele…
Topological charge switching in trapped polariton condensates
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)（韩国科学技术院）；Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)（韩国科学技术研究院）；Gachon University（伽倻大学）
Optical nonlinear functions are crucial for various applications in integrated photonics, such as all-optical information processing, photonic neural networks and on-chip ultrafast light sources. Due to the weak nonlinearities in most integrated photonic platforms, realizing optical nonlinear functions typically requires large driving energies in the picojoules level or beyond, thus imposing a barrier for most applications. Here, we tackle this challenge and demonstrate an integrated nonlinear splitter device in lithium niobate nano-waveguides by simultaneous engineering of the dispersion and …
Valley-Hall-like second-order photonic topological insulators are designed in Kagome-lattice photonic crystals with C3v point-group symmetry. The photonic crystal consists of circular air holes in pure dielectric materials. Different from conventional valley-Hall photonic topological insulators characterized by valley Chern numbers, the proposed insulators have topological invariants described by quantized electric polarization. Topological transition can be realized by tuning the structural size and topological edge states appear at the interface between photonic crystals with different topol…
Topological photonics has recently been proved a robust framework for manipulating light. Active topological photonic systems, in particular, enable richer fundamental physics by employing nonlinear light-matter interactions, thereby opening a new landscape for applications such as topological lasing. Here we report an all-dielectric topological insulator laser scheme based on semiconductor cavities formed by topologically distinct Kagome photonic crystals. The proposed planar semiconductor Kagome lattice allows broadband edge states below the light line due to photonic valley hall effect in t…
Photonic topological insulators provide unprecedented possibilities to eliminate scattering losses and improve the efficiency of optical communication systems. Despite significant theoretical efforts, the experimental demonstration of an integrated photonic topological insulator operating in the telecommunication regime was still missing. Here, we design, fabricate and characterize a photonic-crystal-based topological structure that exhibits valley-Hall effect. We experimentally demonstrate the propagation of topologically protected edge states in a CMOS-compatible chip operating at telecommun…
Here, the frequency degree of freedom is introduced into valley photonic crystals with dual band gaps. Based on the high-order plane wave expansion model, we derive an effective Hamiltonian which characterizes dual band gaps. Metallic valley photonic crystals are demonstrated as examples in which all four topological phases are found. At the domain walls between topologically distinct valley photonic crystals, frequency-dependent edge states are demonstrated and a broadband photonic detouring is proposed. Our findings provide the guidance for designing the frequency-dependent property of topol…
We investigate Rabi-like oscillations of topological valley Hall edge states by introducing two zigzag domain walls in an inversion-symmetry-breaking honeycomb photonic lattice. Such resonant oscillations are stimulated by weak periodic modulation of the lattice depth along the propagation direction that does not affect the overall symmetry and the band topology of the lattice. Oscillations are accompanied by periodic switching between edge states with the same Bloch momentum, but located at different domain walls. Switching period and efficiency are the nonmonotonic functions of the Bloch mom…
A topologically protected ring-resonator formed in valley photonic crystals is proposed and fabricated on a silicon slab. The unidirectional transmission and robustness against structure defects of its resonant modes are illustrated. Coupled with topological waveguides, the topological ring is functioned as notch and channel-drop filters. The work opens up a new avenue for developing advanced chip-integrated photonic circuits with attributes of topological photonics.
Fano resonances appear in quantum mechanical as well as classical systems as a result of the interference between two paths: one involving a discrete resonance and the other a continuum. Compared to a conventional resonance, characterized by a Lorentzian spectral response, the characteristic asymmetric and sharp spectral response of a Fano resonance is suggested to enable photonic switches and sensors with superior characteristics. While experimental demonstrations of the appearance of Fano resonances have been made in both plasmonic and photonic-crystal structures, the control of these resona…
We suggest that tunable orientational nonlinearity of nematic liquid crystals can be employed for all-optical switching in periodic photonic structures with liquid-crystal defects. We consider a one-dimensional periodic structure of Si layers with a local defect created by infiltrating a liquid crystal into a pore, and demonstrate, by solving numerically a system of coupled nonlinear equations for the nematic director and the propagating electric field, that the light-induced Freedericksz transition can lead to a sharp switching and diode operation in the photonic devices.
On-demand, switchable phase transitions between topologically non-trivial and trivial photonic states are demonstrated. Specifically, it is shown that integration of a 2D array of coupled ring resonators within a thermal heater array enables unparalleled control over topological protection of photonic modes. Importantly, auxiliary control over spatial phase modulation opens up a way to guide topologically protected edge modes along generated virtual boundaries. The proposed approach can lead to practical realizations of topological phase transitions in many photonic applications, including top…
The advent of novel nonlinear materials has stirred unprecedented interest in exploring the use of temporal inhomogeneities to achieve novel forms of wave control, amidst the greater vision of engineering metamaterials across both space and time. When the properties of an unbounded medium are abruptly switched in time, propagating waves are efficiently converted to different frequencies, and partially coupled to their back-propagating phase-conjugate partners, through a process called time-reversal. However, in realistic materials the switching time is necessarily finite, playing a central rol…
Topological photonics has attracted widespread research attention in the past decade due to its fundamental interest and unique manner in controlling light propagation for advanced applications. Paradigmatic approaches have been proposed to achieve topological phases including topological insulators in a variety of photonic systems. In particular, photonic lattices composed of evanescently coupled waveguide arrays have been employed conveniently to explore and investigate topological physics. In this article, we review our recent work on demonstration of topological phenomena in reconfigurable…
The hallmark of topological insulators is the scatter-free propagation of waves in topologically protected edge channels. This transport is strictly chiral on the outer edge of the medium, and therefore capable of bypassing sharp corners and imperfections, even in the presence of substantial disorder. In photonics, two-dimensional topological edge states have been demonstrated on several different platforms, and are emerging as a promising tool for robust lasers, quantum devices, and other applications. However, three-dimensional photonic topological insulators, specifically those supporting t…
Exceptional points as branch singularities describe peculiar degeneracies of non-Hermitian systems that do not obey energy conservation. This work shows that exceptional points can emerge in a topological photonic system, for example, the topological photonic waveguide coupled with two degenerate counter-propagation topological whispering gallery modes. Such a photonic architecture is designed by crystal-symmetry-protected topological photonic insulators based on air rods in conventional dielectric materials. The relevant exceptional point reveals the breaking of the parity-time symmetry, refl…
Non-Hermitian systems have recently attracted significant attention in photonics. One of the hallmarks of these systems is the possibility of realizing asymmetric mode switching and omnipolarizer action through the dynamic encirclement of exceptional points (EP). Here, we offer a new perspective on the operating principle of these devices, and we theoretically and experimentally show that asymmetric mode switching and omni-polarizer action can be easily realized with the same performance and limitations, using simple configurations that emulate the physics involved in encircling EPs without th…
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…
Bichromatic photonic crystal structures are based on the coexistence of two different periodicities in the dielectric constant profile. They are realized starting from a photonic crystal waveguide and modifying the lattice constant only in the waveguide region. In this work, we numerically investigate the spectral and topological properties of bichromatic structures. Our calculations demonstrate that they provide a photonic analog of the integer quantum Hall state, a well known example of a topological insulator. The nontrivial topology of the bandstructure is illustrated by the formation of s…
Metamaterials, artificially engineered materials consisting of subwavelength unit cell, have shown potentials in light manipulation with their extraordinary optical properties. Especially, topological metamaterials possessing topologically protected surface states enable extremely robust control of light. Here, we demonstrate extremely broadband topological phase in a photonic topological metamaterials with double helix structure. In particular topological surface states are observed for all the frequencies below a certain cut-off, originating from a double Weyl point at zero frequency. The ex…
We analyze the resonant transmission of light through a photonic-crystal waveguide side coupled to a Kerr nonlinear cavity, and demonstrate how to design the structure geometry for achieving bistability and all-optical switching at ultra-low powers in the slow-light regime. We show that the resonance quality factor in such structures scales inversely proportional to the group velocity of light at the resonant frequency and thus grows indefinitely in the slow-light regime. Accordingly, the power threshold required for all-optical switching in such structures scales as a square of the group velo…
The recent research of topological photonics has not only proposed and realized novel topological phenomena such as one-way broadband propagation and robust transport of light, but also designed and fabricated photonic devices with high-performance indexes which are immune to fabrication errors such as defects or disorders. Photonic crystals, which are periodic optical structures with the advantages of good light field confinement and multiple adjusting degrees of freedom, provide a powerful platform to control the flow of light. With the topology defined in the reciprocal space, photonic crys…
