Gain-loss Modulation Research Articles

Oblique scattering from non-Hermitian optical waveguides

A judicious design of gain and loss leads to counterintuitive wave phenomena that are inaccessible by conservative systems. Notably, such designs can give rise to laser-absorber modes and anisotropic transmission resonances. Here, we analyze the emergence of these phenomena in an optical scatterer with sinusoid gain-loss modulation that is subjected to monochromatic oblique waves. We derive an analytical solution to the problem, with which we show how the scatterer parameters, and specifically the modulation phase and incident angle, constitute a real design space to access these phenomena.

Broad-angle coherent perfect absorption-lasing and super-collimation in two-dimensional non-Hermitian photonic crystals.

Coherent perfect absorption-lasing (CPAL) and collimation have been intensively studied for normal and small angle wave incidence. Here, we report a two-dimensional non-Hermitian photonic crystal for broad-angle CPAL and super-collimation. The synergy of a nonsymmorphic glide symmetry of the lattice, gain-loss modulation and an optimization of unit cell induces a parity-time phase transition in the band structure along the Brillouin zone boundary. The transition points, i.e., the exceptional points, form a slab-like contour, with nearly zero dispersion in both real and imaginary parts of the band structure. Such dispersionless band structure significantly enhances the range of incident angle for CPAL and collimation.

Kerker Effects and Bound States in the Continuum in PT-Symmetric Dielectric Metasurfaces

We investigate the light transmission and reflection spectra of parity-time (PT) symmetric dielectric metasurfaces composed of high refractive index nanostructures with in-plane gain-loss modulation through the scattering matrix and semianalytical Cartesian multipoles methods. We find that the Kerker effects, i.e., the strong forward-to-backward asymmetric scattering originating from overlapping the electric and magnetic multipolar resonances, can be tailored by the gain and loss. In addition, we observe another kind of high-Q resonances, i.e., quasi-bound states in the continuum which couple to the electric and magnetic multipolar radiations, in the transmission and reflection spectra with different incident polarizations lights by manipulating the gain and loss in the metasurfaces. Our results suggest the ways to achieve Kerker effects and engineer the resonances in non-Hermitian metasurfaces for many practical applications in nanophotonics.

Design of a mid-infrared single-mode laser based on parity-time symmetry breaking in air-clad hollow-core ZBLAN fiber micro-resonator

In this paper, we propose a single-mode laser operating in the mid-infrared regime by exploiting parity-time (PT) breaking in a whispering gallery mode (WGM) micro-resonator based on air-clad hollow-core ZBLAN fibers. By introducing alternate gain–loss modulation regions with refractive indices respectively having the same real parts but opposite imaginary parts into the air hole clad region of the hollow-core fiber infiltrated with optical functional materials, a PT symmetry system could be set up and specific WGM in PT-broken state whose electric field distribution matches the gain–loss modulation pattern can be excited to realize single-mode laser emission around 5 μm. And moreover, simulation results indicate that high precision laser wavelength tuning with a sensitivity of 1.623 nm RIU−1 can be achieved by adjusting the refractive index of the functional materials filled into the cladding air holes.

Spatially modulated broad-area lasers for narrow lateral far-field divergence.

A novel laser design is presented that combines a longitudinal-lateral gain-loss modulation with an additional phase tailoring achieved by etching rectangular trenches. At 100 A pulsed operation, simulations predict a far-field profile with 0.3° full width at half maximum (Θ F W H M =0.3 ∘ ) where a 0.4°-wide main lobe contains 40% of the emitted optical output power (Θ 40% =0.4 ∘ ). While far-field measurements of these structured lasers emitting 10 ns long pulses with 35 W peak power confirm a substantial enhancement of radiation within the central 1∘ angular range, the measured far-field intensity outside of the obtained central peak remains high.

Regularization of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser emission by periodic non-Hermitian potentials.

We propose a novel physical mechanism based on periodic non-Hermitian potentials to efficiently control the complex spatial dynamics of broad-area lasers, particularly in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), achieving a stable emission of maximum brightness. A radially dephased periodic refractive index and gain-loss modulations accumulate the generated light from the entire active layer and concentrate it around the structure axis to emit narrow, bright beams. The effect is due to asymmetric inward radial coupling between transverse wave vectors for particular phase differences of the refractive index and gain-loss modulations. Light is confined into a central beam with large intensity, opening the path to design compact, bright, and efficient broad-area light sources. We perform a comprehensive analysis to explore the maximum central intensity enhancement and concentration regimes. This Letter reveals that the optimum schemes are those holding unidirectional inward coupling, but not fulfilling a perfect local PT-symmetry.

High-order exceptional points in non-Hermitian Moiré lattices

This study proposes an approach to generate high-order exceptional points (EPs) in non-Hermitian systems. A system comprising a homogenous waveguide is considered wherein the imaginary part of the refractive index is modulated using a one-dimensional Moire profile. This gain-loss modulation couples different lossless waveguide modes, and these hybrid modes can be modeled using a non-Hermitian matrix with complex off-diagonal elements. Results indicate that third-order EPs can be produced by the coalescence of two second-order EPs. Then, the necessary requirements are analyzed using coupled-wave equations and the physical effects of the singularities are discussed.

Direction-dependent parity-time phase transition and nonreciprocal amplification with dynamic gain-loss modulation

We show that a dynamic gain-loss modulation in an optical structure can lead to a direction-dependent parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) phase transition. The phase transition can be made thresholdless in the forward direction, and yet remains with a nonzero threshold in the backward direction. As a result, nonreciprocal directional amplification can be realized. Such a dynamic gain-loss modulation can be directly integrated with a semiconductor laser to provide optical isolation for the laser.

Stabilization of broad-area semiconductor laser sources by simultaneous index and pump modulations.

We show that the emission of broad-area semiconductor amplifiers and lasers can be efficiently stabilized by introducing two-dimensional periodic modulations simultaneously on both the refractive index and the pump (gain-loss) profiles in the transverse and longitudinal directions. The interplay between such index and gain-loss modulations efficiently suppresses the pattern-forming instabilities, leading to highly stable and bright narrow output beams from such sources. We also determine the stabilization performance of the device as a function of the pump current and linewidth enhancement factor.

Asymmetric Light Transmission in PT-Symmetric Microring Resonators

We propose a new type of add-drop microring resonator made of gain and loss materials. Microring resonators are compact, narrow band, and optical channel dropping filters. In such linear systems, light transmission to side-coupled signal waveguides is always symmetric. However, we prove that properly arranging a gain and loss modulation in the microring resonator provides a new functionality: asymmetric transmission; so that different resonant modes can be promoted depending on the input channel. This can be achieved when the resonator holds parity-time (PT-) symmetry, with periodic gain-loss and index modulations. PT-symmetry in optics generally requires that the index and gain-loss modulations are dephased by a quarter of the wavenumber of the modulation. Besides, we show that a simple half-gain half-loss microring also produces analogous results to a periodic PT-symmetric system. The results are numerically proved and also accounted by a simple analytical model. The effect of using complex modulated resonators with smaller periodicities is also analyzed.

Omnidirectional mirror based on Bragg stacks with a periodic gain-loss modulation

In this work we demonstrate that a Bragg Stack with a periodic gain-loss modulation can function as an Omnidirectional Mirror (OM) with complete reflection at any angle of incidence irrespective of the light polarization. The Bragg Stack is composed by the periodic variation of two layers with the same value of the real part of the refractive index (nr) and a periodic modulation in the imaginary part (ni). The origin of the band gaps is due to the interference of complex waves with propagating and evanescent fields in each layer. It is found that the band gaps are wider as the contrast ni/nr increases. We have found the ambient conditions to obtain an OM considering an auxiliary medium n′ external to the Bragg Stack.

Light in materials with periodic gain-loss modulation on a wavelength scale

We analyze light-wave dynamics in artificial materials characterized by periodically modulated gain or loss on the wavelength scale. The study of the temporal dispersion in one-dimensionally modulated materials predicts mode-locked states and superluminal light propagation regimes in the parameter regions close to the locking regions. The study of spatial dispersion for a two-dimensional gain-loss modulation predicts nontrivial beam propagation effects such as self-collimation, angle-sensitive gain, and negative diffraction in such gain-loss-modulated materials.

Influence of external phase and gain-loss modulation on bound solitons in laser systems

We study the dynamics of bound solitons of the complex cubic-quintic Ginzburg- Landau equation under the influence of external modulation. We consider periods of modulation being either smaller or larger than the soliton separation and the amplitude of modulation being either real or imaginary. For each case, we observe bifurcation and hysteresis phenomena in the parameters of the pair when changing the amplitude of modulation. Namely, soliton separation and phase difference between the solitons may take two or more values for the same modulation amplitude. In the case of gain-loss modulation, two solitons may split and be positioned in the two equilibrium states of the periodic potential. The complicated dynamics of this process is illustrated with numerical examples.

Comparative study of the analog performance of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser under gain and cavity loss modulation

The analog performance of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser is compared for gain and cavity loss modulation. Direct gain modulation consistently results in a larger spur free dynamic range (SFDR) than does cavity loss modulation; the maximum SFDR achieved is 96.5 dB Hz2/3. Analysis of the physical origins of variations in the measured SFDR with applied electrical bias indicates potential strategies for improving the analog response of these lasers.