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Optics Express

All-optical control of photonic states in a photonic molecule

Yanhui Zhao, Weining Qian, Can Zhang

Published Jun 24, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We explore the all-optical control of photonic states in a photonic molecule using a tailored control pulse. By systematically analyzing the requirements for effective state manipulation, we demonstrate that an optimized control pulse can switch off Rabi oscillations between coupled cavities, freezing the system in either symmetric or anti-symmetric supermodes. The arrival time, amplitude, and phase of the control pulse dictate the selective freezing and precise amplitude modulation of photonic states. This deterministic control mechanism enables on-demand photonic state engineering, advancing reconfigurable photonic devices and scalable integrated photonic circuits. Our findings underscore the importance of ultrafast dynamical control in quantum optics and optical information processing.

DOI
10.1364/oe.566126

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We explore the all-optical control of photonic states in a photonic molecule using a tailored control pulse. By systematically analyzing the requirements for effective state manipulation, we demonstrate that an optimized control pulse can switch off Rabi oscillations between coupled cavities, freezing the system in either symmetric or anti-symmetric supermodes. The arrival time, amplitude, and phase of the control pulse dictate the selective freezing and precise amplitude modulation of photonic states. This deterministic control mechanism enables on-demand photonic state engineering, advancing reconfigurable photonic devices and scalable integrated photonic circuits. Our findings underscore the importance of ultrafast dynamical control in quantum optics and optical information processing.
A coherent coupling among different energy photons provided by nonlinear optical interaction is regarded as a photonic version of the Rabi oscillation. Cavity enhancement of the nonlinearity reduces an energy requirement significantly and pushes the scalability of the frequency-encoded photonic circuit based on the photonic Rabi oscillation. However, the confinement of the photons in the cavity severely limits the number of interactable frequency modes. Here we demonstrate a wide-bandwidth and efficient photonic Rabi oscillation achieving full-cycle oscillation based on a cavity-enhanced nonlinear optical interaction with a monolithic integration. We also show its versatile manipulation beyond the frequency degree of freedom such as an all-optical control for polarizing photons with geometric phase. Our results will open up full control accessible to synthetic dimensional photonic systems over wide frequency modes as well as a large-scale photonic quantum information processing.
Abstract Harnessing optical supermode interaction to construct artificial photonic molecules has uncovered a series of fundamental optical phenomena analogous to atomic physics. Previously, the distinct energy levels and interactions in such two-level systems were provided by coupled microresonators. The reconfigurability is limited, as they often require delicate external field stimuli or mechanically altering the geometric factors. These highly specific approaches also limit potential applications. Here, we propose a versatile on-chip photonic molecule in a multimode microring, utilizing a flexible regulation methodology to dynamically control the existence and interaction strength of spatial modes. The transition between single/multi-mode states enables the “switched-off/on” functionality of the photonic molecule, supporting wider generalized applications scenarios. In particular, “switched-on” state shows flexible and multidimensional mode splitting control in aspects of both coupling strength and phase difference, equivalent to the a.c. and d.c. Stark effect. “Switched-off” state allows for perfect low-loss single-mode transition (Q i ~ 10 million) under an ultra-compact bend size (FSR ~ 115 GHz) in a foundry-based silicon microring. It breaks the stereotyped image of the FSR-Q factor trade-off, enabling ultra-wideband and high-resolution millimeter-wave photonic operations. Our demonstration provides a flexible and portable solution for the integrated photonic molecule system, extending its research scope from fundamental physics to real-world applications such as nonlinear optical signal processing and sixth-generation wireless communication.
We theoretically investigate the dynamic interaction of a quantum dot in a nanocavity with time-symmetric single-photon pulses. The simulations, based on a wave-function approach, reveal that almost perfect single-photon absorption occurs for quantum-dot--cavity systems operating on the edge between strong- and weak-coupling regimes. The computed maximum absorption probability is close to unity for pulses with a typical length comparable to half of the Rabi period. Furthermore, the dynamic control of the quantum-dot energy via electric fields allows the freezing of the light-matter interaction, leaving the quantum dot in its excited state. Shaping of single-photon wave packets by the electric field control is limited by the occurrence of chirping of the single-photon pulse. This understanding of the interaction of single-photon pulses with the quantum-dot--cavity system provides the basis for the development of advanced protocols for quantum-information processing in the solid state.
Quantum mechanics endows light with properties that have no classical analogue - superposition, entanglement, and non-classical photon statistics, that can be harnessed as resources for computing, communication, sensing, and simulation. After decades of foundational research, quantum states of light can now be generated, manipulated, and measured with sufficient precision that their non-classical properties are no longer merely curiosities, but engineerable resources. Integrated photonics offers a compelling path forward. By confining light in lithographically defined waveguides on a chip, it replaces fragile bulk optical assemblies with compact, phase-stable, and reproducible circuits. Semiconductor quantum dots embedded in photonic nanostructures provide bright, on-demand single-photon emission compatible with waveguide integration, while superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors provide the efficiency and timing precision that quantum optical measurements demand. A particularly powerful frontier is reconfigurability: programmable photonic circuits whose functionality is defined in software can serve as versatile quantum photonic processors without any physical modification. This dissertation presents work on engineering quantum light across the full chain of generation, control, and detection using integrated photonic platforms. It covers coherent control of nanowire quantum dot emitters, generation of multipartite entangled states on a silicon nitride chip, and the use of programmable silicon-on-insulator interferometers as reconfigurable quantum optical processors for simulating quantum systems.
We study the all-optical time control of the strong coupling between a single cascade three-level quantum emitter and a microcavity. We find that only specific arrival times of the control pulses succeed in switching off the Rabi oscillations. Depending on the arrival times of control pulses, a variety of exotic nonadiabatic cavity quantum electrodynamics effects can be observed. We show that control pulses with specific arrival times, performing which-path and quantum-eraser operations, are able to suddenly switch-off and on first-order coherence of cavity photons, without affecting their strong coupling population dynamics.