Photonics Research
On-chip topological transport of integrated optical frequency combs
Zhen Jiang, Hongwei Wang, Peng Xie, Yuechen Yang, Yang Shen, Bo Hai Ji, Yanghe Chen, Yong Zhang, Lu Sun, Zhen Wang, Chun Jiang, Yikai Su, Guangqiang He
Abstract
Optical frequency combs in integrated photonics have widespread applications in high-dimensional optical computing, high-capacity communications, high-speed interconnects, and other paradigm-shifting technologies. However, quantum frequency combs with high-dimensional quantum states are vulnerable to decoherence, particularly in the presence of perturbations such as sharp bends. Here we experimentally demonstrate the robust on-chip topological transport of quantum frequency combs in valley photonic crystal waveguides. By measuring the time correlations and joint spectral intensity of the quantum frequency combs, we show that both quantum correlations and frequency entanglement remain robust against sharp bends, owing to the topological nature of the quantum valley Hall effect. We also demonstrate that dissipative Kerr soliton combs with a bandwidth of 20 THz maintain their spectral envelope and low-noise properties even in the presence of structure perturbations. These topologically protected optical frequency combs offer robust, complex, highly controllable, and scalable light sources, promising significant advances in high-dimensional photonic information processing.