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arXiv:2404.10470 · Chinese Physics Letters

Reversible Optical Isolators and Quasi-Circulators Using a Magneto-Optical Fabry–Pérot Cavity

Tiantian Zhang, Wenpeng Zhou, Zhixiang Li, Yutao Tang, Fan Xu, Haodong Wu, Han Zhang, Jiang-Shan Tang, Ya-Ping Ruan, Keyu Xia

Published Apr 1, 2024• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Nonreciprocal optical devices are essential for laser protection, modern optical communication and quantum information processing by enforcing one-way light propagation. The conventional Faraday magneto-optical nonreciprocal devices rely on a strong magnetic field, which is provided by a permanent magnet. As a result, the isolation direction of such devices is fixed and severely restricts their applications in quantum networks. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the simultaneous one-way transmission and unidirectional reflection by using a magneto-optical Fabry–Pérot cavity and a magnetic field strength of 50 mT. An optical isolator and a three-port quasi-circulator are realized based on this nonreciprocal cavity system. The isolator achieves an isolation ratio of up to 22 dB and an averaged insertion loss down to 0.97 dB. The quasi-circulator is realized with a fidelity exceeding 99% and an overall survival probability of 89.9%, corresponding to an insertion loss of ∼0.46 dB. The magnetic field is provided by an electromagnetic coil, thereby allowing for reversing the light circulating path. The reversible quasi-circulator paves the way for building reconfigurable quantum networks.

DOI
10.1088/0256-307x/41/4/044205

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Nonreciprocal optical devices are essential for laser protection, modern optical communication and quantum information processing by enforcing one-way light propagation. The conventional Faraday magneto-optical nonreciprocal devices rely on a strong magnetic field, which is provided by a permanent magnet. As a result, the isolation direction of such devices is fixed and severely restricts their applications in quantum networks. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the simultaneous one-way transmission and unidirectional reflection by using a magneto-optical Fabry–Pérot cavity and a magnetic field strength of 50 mT. An optical isolator and a three-port quasi-circulator are realized based on this nonreciprocal cavity system. The isolator achieves an isolation ratio of up to 22 dB and an averaged insertion loss down to 0.97 dB. The quasi-circulator is realized with a fidelity exceeding 99% and an overall survival probability of 89.9%, corresponding to an insertion loss of ∼0.46 dB. The magnetic field is provided by an electromagnetic coil, thereby allowing for reversing the light circulating path. The reversible quasi-circulator paves the way for building reconfigurable quantum networks.
Optical nonreciprocity is an essential concept in optical signal processing and communication. The traditional way to achieve nonreciprocity is using magneto-optical nonreciprocal polarization rotation, which is incompatible with existing on-chip integration due to the applied magnetic field. Here, we theoretically and experimentally realize unidirectional polarization rotation with a magnetic-free mechanism using atomic ensembles. Free-space isolators and circulators are further formed based on the nonreciprocity of polarization rotation. As only one direction of the signal changes its polarization, the forward transmission and backward isolation can be adjusted separately. Compared with the existing magnetic-free circulators that rely on high-Q factor cavities or Mach–Zehnder interferometers, we experimentally realized circulators in free space. This dramatically simplifies the magnetic-free circulator structure and provides better stability.
Nonreciprocal devices operating at the single-photon level are fundamental elements for quantum technologies. Because magneto-optical nonreciprocal devices are incompatible for magnetic-sensitive or on-chip quantum information processing, all-optical nonreciprocal isolation is highly desired, but its realization at the quantum level is yet to be accomplished at room temperature. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate two regimes, using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) or a Raman transition, for all-optical isolation with warm atoms. We achieve an isolation of 22.52 ± 0.10 dB and an insertion loss of about 1.95 dB for a genuine single photon, with bandwidth up to hundreds of megahertz. The Raman regime realized in the same experimental setup enables us to achieve high isolation and low insertion loss for coherent optical fields with reversed isolation direction. These realizations of single-photon isolation and coherent light isolation at room temperature are promising for simpler reconfiguration of high-speed classical and quantum information processing.
A scheme for magnetic-free optical nonreciprocity in an ensemble of four-level cold atoms is proposed by exploiting the directional four-wave mixing effect. Using experimentally achievable parameters, the nonreciprocal optical responses of the system can be observed and the conversion on nonreciprocal transmission and nonreciprocal phase shift can be implemented. These nonreciprocal phenomena originate from the directional phase matching, which breaks the time-reversal symmetry and dynamic reciprocity of the cold atomic system. Moreover, by embedding the cold atoms into a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and choosing proper parameters, a two-port optical isolator with an isolation ratio of 79.70 dB and an insertion loss of 0.35 dB and a four-port optical circulator with a fidelity of 0.9985 and a photon survival probability of 0.9278 can be realized, which shows the high performance of isolation and circulation. The proposal may enable a new class of optically controllable cavity-free nonreciprocal devices in optical signal processing at the low light level.
Optical nonreciprocity is an essential property for a wide range of applications, such as building nonreciprocal optical devices that include isolators and circulators. The realization of optical nonreciprocity relies on breaking the symmetry associated with Lorentz reciprocity, which typically requires stringent conditions such as introducing a strong magnetic field or a high-finesse cavity with nonreciprocal coupling geometry. Here we discover that the collision effect of thermal atoms, which is undesirable for most studies, can induce broadband optical nonreciprocity. By exploiting the thermal atomic collision, we experimentally observe magnet-free and cavity-free optical nonreciprocity, which possesses a high isolation ratio, ultrabroad bandwidth, and low insertion loss simultaneously. The maximum isolation ratio is close to 40 dB, while the insertion loss is less than 1 dB. The bandwidth for an isolation ratio exceeding 20 dB is over 1.2 GHz, which is 2 orders of magnitude broader than typical resonance-enhanced optical isolators. Our work paves the way for the realization of high-performance optical nonreciprocal devices and provides opportunities for applications in integrated optics and quantum networks.
Abstract Nonreciprocal devices, such as isolators, are of great importance for optical communication and optical information processing. To bypass the limitation of a strong magnetic field imposed by the traditional Faraday magneto-optic effect, many alternative mechanisms have been proposed to demonstrate magnetic-free nonreciprocity. However, limited by the drive-induced noise, the noiseless isolator capable of working in the quantum regime has yet to be realized in the experiment. Here, we show a noiseless all-optical isolator with genuine single photons in hot atoms. We experimentally study this mechanism using an open V-type level scheme and demonstrate a low insertion loss of 0.6 dB and high isolation of 30.3 dB with bandwidth up to hundreds of megahertz. Furthermore, the nonreciprocal direction can be truly reversed only by tuning the frequency of the pump laser with the same setup. Our scheme relies on widely used optical technology and is thus universal and robust.
Ultrahigh nonreciprocal transmission has been achieved in a cavity-magnon system, which consists of two whispering gallery modes (WGMs) and a single magnon mode within a magnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet sphere. The nonreciprocal frequency shift induced by the Sagnac effect enables unidirectional transmission of an input field, while suppressing propagation in the opposite direction, thereby facilitating nonreciprocal optical transmission. Within experimentally accessible parameter regimes, the optical isolation ratio can exceed 40 dB, representing the highest isolation ratio reported to date. Furthermore, applying squeezing to the magnon mode further enhances this isolation performance. Additionally, the directionality of light isolation can be reversed simply by modifying the rotation of the WGM cavity. These findings offer promising prospects for developing high-performance, tunable, and compact optical nonreciprocal devices.