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Optics Express

Mechanical switch of photon blockade and photon-induced tunneling

Cuilu Zhai, Ran Huang, Hui Jing, Le‐Man Kuang

Published Sep 17, 2019• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose how to mechanically control photon blockade (PB) and photon-induced tunneling (PIT) in an optomechanical system. We show that single-photon blockade (1PB) and two-photon blockade (2PB) can emerge by tuning mechanical driving parameters. Moreover, by varying the strength of mechanical driving, PIT can be converted into 1PB or 2PB, or vice versa, with the constant optical frequency. We refer to this effect as PIT-1PB or PIT-2PB switch. In addition, the switch between 1PB and 2PB can also be realized with this strategy. This mechanical engineering of quantum optical effects can be understood from the shifts of energy levels induced by external mechanical pumping. Our results not only pave the way towards devising new schemes for quantum light switch but also, on a more fundamental level, could shed light on the nonclassicality of the few-photon states.

DOI
10.1364/oe.27.027649

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We propose how to mechanically control photon blockade (PB) and photon-induced tunneling (PIT) in an optomechanical system. We show that single-photon blockade (1PB) and two-photon blockade (2PB) can emerge by tuning mechanical driving parameters. Moreover, by varying the strength of mechanical driving, PIT can be converted into 1PB or 2PB, or vice versa, with the constant optical frequency. We refer to this effect as PIT-1PB or PIT-2PB switch. In addition, the switch between 1PB and 2PB can also be realized with this strategy. This mechanical engineering of quantum optical effects can be understood from the shifts of energy levels induced by external mechanical pumping. Our results not only pave the way towards devising new schemes for quantum light switch but also, on a more fundamental level, could shed light on the nonclassicality of the few-photon states.
We study the single-photon blockade (1PB), two-photon blockade (2PB), and photon-induced tunneling (PIT) effects in a cavity–atom optomechanical system in which a two-level atom is coupled to a single-model cavity field via a two-photon interaction. By analyzing the eigenenergy spectrum of the system, we obtain a perfect 1PB with a high occupancy probability of single-photon excitation, which means that a high-quality and efficient single-photon source can be generated. However, PIT often occurs in many cases when we consider 2PB in analogy to 1PB. In addition, we find that a 2PB region will present in the optomechanical system, which can be proved by calculating the correlation function of the model analytically.
The photon blockade effect, as a quantum behavior in cavity optomechanics, has certain limitations, including stringent requirements for system parameters and technical difficulties in achieving strong nonlinear interactions. This paper proposes a novel scheme that aims to achieve strong nonlinear effects through introducing the degenerate optical parametric amplifier (OPA) and mechanical squeezing. These enhanced nonlinear effects can significantly improve the photon blockade effect, effectively overcoming the limitations of weak coupling. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates the successful realization of an ideal single-photon blockade (1PB) state through optimized parameter conditions. Additionally, this joint approach significantly enhances the two-photon blockade (2PB) effect and broadens the region where 2PB occurs. This finding helps us identify the optimal system parameters to maximize two-photon emission efficiency. By precisely controlling these parameters, a new pathway is opened for more flexible manipulation and utilization of the photon blockade effect in experiments.
Abstract A proposal is made on how to manipulate photon blockades (PBs) and photon‐induced tunneling (PIT) in an optomechanical cavity with a Bose‐Einstein Condensate. It is shown that the single‐photon blockade (1PB) can emerge with appropriate scattering strength between atoms. Further, by tuning interatomic scattering strength, the switch between 1PB and PIT at the fixed optical detuning can be realized in interatomic repulsion or attraction conditions. The enhancement of 1PB can also be achieved. The scattering control of PBs can be understood from the perspective of the anharmonicity of the energy levels modulated by the interatomic collision. Such a system can be equivalent to a conventional optomechanical system plus an interatomic scattering term. It is found that although there are no PBs in the conventional optomechanical system, in the BEC optomechanical system (BECOMS), PBs can occur at the fixed optical detuning. Moreover, the BECOMS can exhibit stronger 1PB under the same optomechanical coupling intensity. Due to the advantages of intrinsic strong optomechanical nonlinearity and the negligible thermal noise of the mechanical environment, BECOMS is promising for experimental realization of PBs. The results open new possibilities for manipulating few‐photon states in quantum regime in cavity optomechanics with a Bose‐Einstein Condensate.
We study photon blockade and antibunching in the cavity of an optomechanical system in which the mechanical resonator is coupled to a two-level system (TLS). In particular, we analyze the effects of the coupling strength (to the mechanical mode), transition frequency, and decay rate of TLS on the photon blockade. The statistical properties of the cavity field are affected by the TLS, because the TLS changes the energy-level structure of the optomechanical system via dressed states formed by the TLS and the mechanical resonator. We find that the photon blockade and tunneling can be significantly changed by the transition frequency of the TLS and the coupling strength between the TLS and the mechanical resonator. Therefore, our study provides a method to tune the photon blockade and tunneling using a controllable TLS.
Photon Blockades in an Optomechanical Cavity In article number 2300465, Le-Man Kuang and co-workers study the photon blockades in an optomechanical cavity with a BoseEinstein condensate. By tuning the interatomic scattering strength, a switch between single-photon blockade and photon-induced tunneling can be realized, and the enhancement of single-photon blockade can be achieved in both interatomic repulsion and attraction conditions. Moreover, the system can exhibit stronger single-photon blockade under the same optomechanical coupling than a conventional optomechanical system.
We theoretically study the photon blockade (PB) effect in a double-cavity optomechanical system with the two-photon driving. By analytical calculations and numerical simulations, the physical mechanisms of conventional photon blockade (CPB) and unconventional photon blockade (UPB) are discussed in detail. And then we obtain the optimal parameter conditions for PB. In our work, there exist both the CPB induced by strong nonlinear interaction and the UPB caused by quantum interference. In particular, we find that CPB and UPB can occur simultaneously under the same parameters. In addition, we also prove that the appropriate values of nonreciprocal coupling and two-photon driving are favorable to the improvement of PB. Our proposal provides an idea for simultaneously realizing CPB and UPB in the optomechanical system and offers a route for constructing high-quality single-photon sources.