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Optics Express

Frequency-space few-photon diode effect

Z. Liu, Xinyu Shi, lei hua liu, Jinlei Tan

Published Oct 24, 2025• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study coherent few-photon transport in a dissipative nonlinear cavity coupled to a 1D waveguide, deriving analytical solutions that reveal how cavity dissipation regulates the few-photon diode effect. Key findings show that under Γ/𝜆 = 1 (Γ:waveguide-cavity coupling, 𝜆: dissipation) and 𝛿1 = 0Γ:(1) For single photons, left incidence yields perfect transmission while right incidence causes complete dissipation absorption, forming an efficient single-photon diode;(2) For two photons under single-photon resonance, left incidence allows unimpeded transmission whereas right incidence results in near-total dissipation (> 99%)leaving only a faint bound state, maintaining strong diode characteristics despite minimal transmission. The condition Γ/𝜆 = 1 optimizes directional suppression via cavity dissipation, providing a theoretical foundation for quantum diode devices in integrated quantum optics and information processing.

DOI
10.1364/oe.574025

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We study coherent few-photon transport in a dissipative nonlinear cavity coupled to a 1D waveguide, deriving analytical solutions that reveal how cavity dissipation regulates the few-photon diode effect. Key findings show that under Γ/𝜆 = 1 (Γ:waveguide-cavity coupling, 𝜆: dissipation) and 𝛿1 = 0Γ:(1) For single photons, left incidence yields perfect transmission while right incidence causes complete dissipation absorption, forming an efficient single-photon diode;(2) For two photons under single-photon resonance, left incidence allows unimpeded transmission whereas right incidence results in near-total dissipation (> 99%)leaving only a faint bound state, maintaining strong diode characteristics despite minimal transmission. The condition Γ/𝜆 = 1 optimizes directional suppression via cavity dissipation, providing a theoretical foundation for quantum diode devices in integrated quantum optics and information processing.
We studied the coherent transport of one or two photons in a one-dimensional waveguide chirally coupled to a dissipative nonlinear cavity. The scattering amplitudes were derived analytically. With the assist of dissipation, we can realize an ideal optical diode at the single-photon level, i. e., the transmittance is unity from one side and zero form the other side. The working area and properties of the two-photon diode are also found. This work details the relation between the diode effect and our system parameters, especially dissipation, which may find it applications in nonreciprocal quantum devices and quantum networks.
The semiconductor diode, which acts as an electrical rectifier and allows unidirectional electronic transports, is the key to information processing in integrated circuits. Analogously, an optical rectifier (or diode) working at specific target wavelengths has recently become a highly sought-after device in optical communication and signal processing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to realize an optical diode for photonic transport at the level of few photons. The system consists of two spatially overlapping single-mode semiconductor microcavities coupled via ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ nonlinearities. The photon blockade is predicted to take place in this system. These photon blockade effects can be achieved by tuning the frequency of the input laser field (driving field). Based on those blockades, we analytically derive the one- and two-photon current in terms of a zero and a finite time-delayed two-order correlation function. The results suggest that the system can serve as a one- and two-photon quantum optical diode which allows transmission of photons in one direction much more efficiently than in the other.
We study the coherent transport of one or two photons in a one-dimensional waveguide chirally coupled to a nonlinear resonator. Analytic solutions of the one-photon and two-photon scattering is derived. Although the resonator acts as a non-reciprocal phase shifter, light transmission is reciprocal at one-photon level. However, the forward and reverse transmitted probabilities for two photons incident from either the left side or the right side of the nonlinear resonator are nonreciprocal due to the energy redistribution of the two-photon bound state. Hence, the nonlinear resonator acts as an optical diode at two-photon level.
We propose a scheme of realizing an optical diode at the few-photon level. The system consists of a one-dimensional waveguide coupled asymmetrically to a two-level system. The two or multiphoton transport in this system is strongly correlated. We derive exactly the single and two-photon current and show that the two-photon current is asymmetric for the asymmetric coupling. Thus the system serves as an optical diode which allows transmission of photons in one direction much more efficiently than the opposite.
We investigated the transmission of single and two photons in a one-dimensional waveguide that is coupled with a Kerr micro-ring resonator and a polarized quantum emitter. In both cases, a phase shift occurs, and the non-reciprocal behavior of the system is attributed to the unbalanced coupling between the quantum emitter and the resonator. Our analytical solutions and numerical simulations demonstrate that the nonlinear resonator scattering causes the energy redistribution of the two photons through the bound state. When the system is in the two-photon resonance state, the polarization of the correlated two photons is locked to their propagation direction, leading to non-reciprocity. As a result, our configuration can act as an optical diode.
Quantum nonlinear optics seeks to harness strong photon-photon interactions for scalable quantum technologies, although dissipative losses still pose a major barrier to near-unity conversion efficiency. Here, we bridge non-Hermitian physics with the quantum nonlinear domain by exploiting perfect absorption to identify and optimize few-photon nonlinear processes. We theoretically investigate two circuit QED systems, operating in the light-matter ultrastrong coupling regime. The first (i) enables simultaneous two-atom excitations by single photons, while the second (ii) realizes the strong coupling between a single-photon and a two-photon Fock states. We demonstrate that, since the strong optical nonlinearities cause quantum spectral features to emerge already at the level of linear response theory, the perfect absorption condition in ∣S11∣|S_{11}|∣S11​∣ enables near-deterministic single-photon down-conversion into (i) a qubit-qubit-correlated pair and (ii) a two-photon pair. We show that the conversion efficiency can be systematically optimized through experimentally accessible parameters, both linked to the emergence of Hermitian subspaces within the effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. These findings position non-Hermitian engineering as a broadly applicable route to optimizing quantum devices at the single-photon level, even beyond circuit-QED platforms.