Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics
Abstract Parity-time (PT) symmetry has been unveiling new photonic regimes in non-Hermitian systems, with opportunities for lasing, sensing and enhanced light-matter interactions. The most exotic responses emerge at the exceptional point (EP) and in the broken PT-symmetry phase, yet in conventional...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45226-x |
| _version_ | 1811153599989809152 |
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| author | Weijie Liu Quancheng Liu Xiang Ni Yuechen Jia Klaus Ziegler Andrea Alù Feng Chen |
| author_facet | Weijie Liu Quancheng Liu Xiang Ni Yuechen Jia Klaus Ziegler Andrea Alù Feng Chen |
| author_sort | Weijie Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Parity-time (PT) symmetry has been unveiling new photonic regimes in non-Hermitian systems, with opportunities for lasing, sensing and enhanced light-matter interactions. The most exotic responses emerge at the exceptional point (EP) and in the broken PT-symmetry phase, yet in conventional PT-symmetric systems these regimes require large levels of gain and loss, posing remarkable challenges in practical settings. Floquet PT-symmetry, which may be realized by periodically flipping the effective gain/loss distribution in time, can relax these requirements and tailor the EP and PT-symmetry phases through the modulation period. Here, we explore Floquet PT-symmetry in an integrated photonic waveguide platform, in which the role of time is replaced by the propagation direction. We experimentally demonstrate spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking at small gain/loss levels and efficient control of amplification and suppression through the excitation ports. Our work introduces the advantages of Floquet PT-symmetry in a practical integrated photonic setting, enabling a powerful platform to observe PT-symmetric phenomena and leverage their extreme features, with applications in nanophotonics, coherent control of nanoscale light amplification and routing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:51:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5dde4289e1cf416e87440e6aafb5c721 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:51:28Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-5dde4289e1cf416e87440e6aafb5c7212024-03-05T19:41:44ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-01-011511710.1038/s41467-024-45226-xFloquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonicsWeijie Liu0Quancheng Liu1Xiang Ni2Yuechen Jia3Klaus Ziegler4Andrea Alù5Feng Chen6School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong UniversityDepartment of Physics, Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan UniversitySchool of Physics, Central South UniversitySchool of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong UniversityInstitut für Physik, Universität AugsburgPhotonics Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New YorkSchool of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong UniversityAbstract Parity-time (PT) symmetry has been unveiling new photonic regimes in non-Hermitian systems, with opportunities for lasing, sensing and enhanced light-matter interactions. The most exotic responses emerge at the exceptional point (EP) and in the broken PT-symmetry phase, yet in conventional PT-symmetric systems these regimes require large levels of gain and loss, posing remarkable challenges in practical settings. Floquet PT-symmetry, which may be realized by periodically flipping the effective gain/loss distribution in time, can relax these requirements and tailor the EP and PT-symmetry phases through the modulation period. Here, we explore Floquet PT-symmetry in an integrated photonic waveguide platform, in which the role of time is replaced by the propagation direction. We experimentally demonstrate spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking at small gain/loss levels and efficient control of amplification and suppression through the excitation ports. Our work introduces the advantages of Floquet PT-symmetry in a practical integrated photonic setting, enabling a powerful platform to observe PT-symmetric phenomena and leverage their extreme features, with applications in nanophotonics, coherent control of nanoscale light amplification and routing.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45226-x |
| spellingShingle | Weijie Liu Quancheng Liu Xiang Ni Yuechen Jia Klaus Ziegler Andrea Alù Feng Chen Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics Nature Communications |
| title | Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics |
| title_full | Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics |
| title_fullStr | Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics |
| title_short | Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics |
| title_sort | floquet parity time symmetry in integrated photonics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45226-x |
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