Effective electric-field force for a photon in a synthetic frequency lattice created in a waveguide modulator

Abstract

Here we create an effective electric field force for photon in a synthetic frequency lattice to control the spectrum of light. The frequency lattice is created based on an optical waveguide modulator in which the dynamic index modulation can induce photonic transitions between adjacent lattice sites. We show that the wave vector mismatch during photonic transitions and periodic distribution of the modulation phase can be mapped into a linear-varying and a periodically driven gauge potential, which gives rise to a constant and a harmonic oscillating force, respectively. Under different combinations of the constant and oscillating forces, we can realize the effects of frequency Bloch oscillations, anharmonic Bloch oscillations, super-Bloch oscillations, and directional frequency shift. With an appropriate choice of the magnitude of the oscillating force, we also achieve dynamic localization in the frequency domain. The realization of effective force provides a mechanism to control the spectrum of light, which may find applications in frequency perfect imaging, efficient shifting, and precise transduction.