Electrical tuning of branched flow of light.

Branched flows occur ubiquitously in various wave systems, when the propagating waves encounter weak correlated scattering potentials. Here we report the experimental realization of electrical tuning of the branched flow of light using a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) system. We create the physical realization of the weakly correlated disordered potentials of light via the inhomogeneous orientations of the NLC. We demonstrate that the branched flow of light can be switched on and off as well as tuned continuously through the electro-optical properties of NLC film. We further show that the branched flow can be manipulated by the polarization of the incident light due to the optical anisotropy of the NLC film. The nature of the branched flow of light is revealed via the unconventional intensity statistics and the rapid fidelity decay along the light propagation. Our study unveils an excellent platform for the tuning of the branched flow of light which creates a testbed for fundamental physics and offers a new way for steering light.

Multimode sensing based on optical microcavities.

Optical microcavities have the ability to confine photons in small mode volumes for long periods of time, greatly enhancing light-matter interactions, and have become one of the research hotspots in international academia. In recent years, sensing applications in complex environments have inspired the development of multimode optical microcavity sensors. These multimode sensors can be used not only for multi-parameter detection but also to improve measurement precision. In this review, we introduce multimode sensing methods based on optical microcavities and present an overview of the multimode single/multi-parameter optical microcavities sensors. Expected further research activities are also put forward.

Generation of high-speed PAM-4 signal with 3-bit DAC enabled by CRD-NS in optical interconnect.

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrated a 2-km high-speed optical interconnection with pulse-shaped pre-equalized four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-4) signal generated by a 3-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with the aid of in-band quantization noise suppression techniques under different oversampling ratios (OSRs) to reduce the influence of quantization noise. The simulation results show that the quantization noise suppression capability of high computational complexity digital resolution enhancer (DRE) is sensitive to taps number of the estimated channel and match filter (MF) response when OSR is sufficient, which will lead to further significant computational complexity increase. To better accommodate this issue, channel response-dependent noise shaping (CRD-NS) which also takes channel response into consideration when optimizing quantization noise distribution is proposed to suppress the in-band quantization noise instead of DRE. Experimental results show that about 2 dB receiver sensitivity improvement can be achieved at the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold for 110 Gb/s pre-equalized PAM-4 signal generated by 3-bit DAC when the traditional NS technique is replaced by the CRD-NS technique. Compared to the high computational complexity DRE technique, in which channel response is also considered, negligible receiver sensitivity penalty is observed for 110 Gb/s PAM-4 signal, when the CRD-NS technique is utilized. Considering both the system cost and bit error ratio (BER) performance, the generation of high-speed PAM signal with 3-bit DAC enabled by the CRD-NS technique is regarded as a promising scheme for optical interconnection.

Simultaneous temperature and pressure sensing based on a single optical resonator.

We propose a dual-parameter sensor for the simultaneous detection of temperature and pressure based on a single packaged microbubble resonator (PMBR). The ultrahigh-quality (∼107) PMBR sensor exhibits long-term stability with the maximum wavelength shift about 0.2056 pm. Here, two resonant modes with different sensing performance are selected to implement the parallel detection of temperature and pressure. The temperature and pressure sensitivities of resonant Mode-1 are -10.59 pm/°C and 0.1059 pm/kPa, while the sensitivities of Mode-2 are -7.69 pm/°C and 0.1250 pm/kPa, respectively. By adopting a sensing matrix, the two parameters are precisely decoupled and the root mean square error of measurement are ∼ 0.12 °C and ∼ 6.48 kPa, respectively. This work promises the potential for the multi-parameters sensing in a single optical device.

Unconventional photon blockade in a non-Hermitian indirectly coupled resonator system.

Photon blockade provides an effective way to realize the single-photon source, which attracts intensive attention in the fields of quantum optics and quantum information. Here in this study, we investigate photon blockade in a non-Hermitian indirectly coupled resonator system, which consists of a dissipative cavity and a Kerr nonlinear resonator coupled to two nano-scatters. We find that by tuning the coupling phase θ between the two resonators, the quantum interference could be induced on one side near the exceptional points (EPs), resulting in the unconventional photon blockade effect. Furthermore, it is noticed that the large Kerr nonlinearity is not always beneficial for unconventional photon blockades. There is an optimal threshold for the intensity of the Kerr nonlinearity and the phase angle θ for the appearance of the unconventional photon blockade effect. We believe the current study has substantial consequences for investigating the physical characteristics close to EPs and presents a novel method for developing integrated on-chip single-photon sources.

Controlling of spatial modes in multi-mode photonic crystal nanobeam cavity.

We numerically and experimentally present the characteristics of disturbed spatial modes (air mode and dielectric mode) in multi-mode photonic crystal nanobeam cavity (PCNC) in the mid-infrared wavelength range. The results show that the resonance wavelength of the spatial modes can be controlled by modifying the size, period and position of the central periodical mirrors in PCNC, achieving better utilization of the spectrum resource. Additionally, side coupling characteristics of PCNC supporting both air and dielectric modes are investigated for the first time. This work serves as a proof of design method that the spatial modes can be controlled flexibly in PCNC, paving the way to achieve integrated multi-function devices in a limited spectrum range.

100 Gb/s NRZ OOK signal regeneration using four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide with reverse-biased p-i-n junction.

A silicon waveguide with reverse-biased p-i-n junction is used to experimentally demonstrate all-optical regeneration of non-return-to-zero (NRZ) on-off keying (OOK) signal based on four-wave mixing. The silicon waveguide allows a high conversion efficiency of -12 dB. The 0.22 dB (1.1 dB) quality (Q) factor and 0.74 dB (6.3 dB) extinction ratio (ER) improvements on average are achieved for 100 Gb/s (50 Gb/s) NRZ OOK signal regeneration at different receiving powers via the optimal match between the input signal optical power and input-output transfer curve. To the best of our knowledge, this silicon-based all-optical regenerator exhibits superior regeneration performance, including large ER and Q factor improvements, and the highest regeneration speed of NRZ OOK signal, and it has wide applications in 5 G/6 G networks.

Programmable VO2 metasurface for terahertz wave beam steering.

Programmable vanadium dioxide (VO2) metasurface is proposed at THz frequencies. The insulating and metallic states of VO2 can be switched via external electrical stimulation, resulting in the dynamical modulation of electromagnetic response. The voltages of different columns of the metasurface can be controlled by the field-programmable gate array, and thus the phase gradients are realized for THz beam steering. In 1-bit coding, we design periodic and nonperiodic 24 × 24 coding sequences, and achieve wide-angle beam scanning with the deflection angles from -60° to +60°. In 2-bit coding, we use two different meta-atoms to design 18 × 18 coding sequences. Compared with 1-bit coding, 2-bit coding has more degree of freedom to control the optical phase, and 3 dB diffraction efficiency is improved by generating a single deflection angle. The proposed programmable metasurfaces provide a promising platform for manipulating electromagnetic wave in 6G wireless communication.

Ultrasound Sensing Using Packaged Microsphere Cavity in the Underwater Environment.

The technologies of ultrasound detection have a wide range of applications in marine science and industrial manufacturing. With the variation of the environment, the requirements of anti-interference, miniaturization, and ultra-sensitivity are put forward. Optical microcavities are often carefully designed for a variety of ultra-sensitive detections. Using the packaged microsphere cavity, we fabricated an ultrasound sensor that can work in an underwater environment. During practical detection, the optical resonance mode of the cavity can work with real-time response accordingly. The designed structure can work in various complex environments and has advantages in the fields of precision measurement and nano-particle detection.

Operando monitoring transition dynamics of responsive polymer using optofluidic microcavities.

Optical microcavities have become an attractive platform for precision measurement with merits of ultrahigh sensitivity, miniature footprint and fast response. Despite the achievements of ultrasensitive detection, optical microcavities still face significant challenges in the measurement of biochemical and physical processes with complex dynamics, especially when multiple effects are present. Here we demonstrate operando monitoring of the transition dynamics of a phase-change material via a self-referencing optofluidic microcavity. We use a pair of cavity modes to precisely decouple the refractive index and temperature information of the analyte during the phase-transition process. Through real-time measurements, we reveal the detailed hysteresis behaviors of refractive index during the irreversible phase transitions between hydrophilic and hydrophobic states. We further extract the phase-transition threshold by analyzing the steady-state refractive index change at various power levels. Our technology could be further extended to other materials and provide great opportunities for exploring on-demand dynamic biochemical processes.

Multi-resonance and ultra-wideband terahertz metasurface absorber based on micro-template-assisted self-assembly method.

As a promising platform for multi-functional terahertz devices, metasurface absorbers have received widespread attention in recent years. However, due to the existence of manufacturing difficulties, high cost, fragility, single or narrow absorption and other disadvantages, their application ranges are severely limited. Therefore, to effectively solve these problems, we have designed a flexible and high-precision terahertz metasurface absorber based on the micro-template assisted self-assembly method. Free from high cost, complicated process and time-consumption, the sandwich structure terahertz metasurface absorber consisting of a ceramic microspheres layer, a dielectric spacer layer, and a metal copper film is fabricated economically. On the one hand, through assembling the microspheres on the dielectric spacer in a periodic pattern arrangement, multiple resonances can be observed with a maximum absorption rate of up to 92.5% at 0.745 THz and are insensitive to the polarization of incident light. On the other hand, by attaching the microspheres to the dielectric layer in a compact configuration, 90% absorption bandwidth beyond 1.2 THz can be observed with a central frequency of 1.8 THz. The theoretical model of multiple reflection and interference is employed to explain these absorption characteristics. Considering the flexible design and high-throughput manufacturing processes, this work provides a promising platform for the development of high-efficiency and multi-functional terahertz devices.

Photonic Crystal Nanobeam Cavities for Nanoscale Optical Sensing: A Review.

The ability to detect nanoscale objects is particular crucial for a wide range of applications, such as environmental protection, early-stage disease diagnosis and drug discovery. Photonic crystal nanobeam cavity (PCNC) sensors have attracted great attention due to high-quality factors and small-mode volumes (Q/V) and good on-chip integrability with optical waveguides/circuits. In this review, we focus on nanoscale optical sensing based on PCNC sensors, including ultrahigh figure of merit (FOM) sensing, single nanoparticle trapping, label-free molecule detection and an integrated sensor array for multiplexed sensing. We believe that the PCNC sensors featuring ultracompact footprint, high monolithic integration capability, fast response and ultrahigh sensitivity sensing ability, etc., will provide a promising platform for further developing lab-on-a-chip devices for biosensing and other functionalities.

High-Q, low-index-contrast photonic crystal nanofiber cavity for high sensitivity refractive index sensing.

We present the design of simultaneous high-quality (Q)-factor and high-sensitivity (S) photonic crystal nanofiber cavities (PCNFCs) made of single silica nanofiber that have a low-index contrast (ratio=1.45). By using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method, two different resonant modes, dielectric mode (DM) and air mode (AM), are designed and optimized to achieve an ultrahigh figure of merit (FOM), respectively. Numerical simulations are performed to study the Q-factors and sensitivities of the proposed PCNFCs. It shows that for both DM- and AM-based PCNFCs, respectively, the Q-factors and sensitivities of Q∼1.1×107, S=563.6 nm/RIU and Q∼2.1×105, S=736.8 nm/RIU can be estimated, resulting in FOMs as high as 4.31×106 and 1.13×105, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first silica nanofiber cavity geometry that simultaneously features high Q and high S for both DM and AM in PCNFCs. Compared with the state of the art of nanofiber-based cavities, the cavity Q-factor to mode volume (V) ratio (Q/V) in this work has been improved more than two orders of magnitude. The demonstration of a high Q/V cavity in low-index-contrast nanofibers can open up versatile applications using a broad range of functional and flexible fibers. Moreover, due to the extended evanescent field and small mode volumes, the proposed PCNFCs are ideal platforms for remote ultra-sensitive refractive-index-based gas sensing without the need for complicated coupling systems.

Silicon on-chip 1D photonic crystal nanobeam bandstop filters for the parallel multiplexing of ultra-compact integrated sensor array.

We propose a novel multiplexed ultra-compact high-sensitivity one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PC) nanobeam cavity sensor array on a monolithic silicon chip, referred to as Parallel Integrated 1D PC Nanobeam Cavity Sensor Array (PI-1DPC-NCSA). The performance of the device is investigated numerically with three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) technique. The PI-1DPC-NCSA consists of multiple parallel-connected channels of integrated 1D PC nanobeam cavities/waveguides with gap separations. On each channel, by connecting two additional 1D PC nanobeam bandstop filters (1DPC-NBFs) to a 1D PC nanobeam cavity sensor (1DPC-NCS) in series, a transmission spectrum with a single targeted resonance is achieved for the purpose of multiplexed sensing applications. While the other spurious resonances are filtered out by the stop-band of 1DPC-NBF, multiple 1DPC-NCSs at different resonances can be connected in parallel without spectrum overlap. Furthermore, in order for all 1DPC-NCSs to be integrated into microarrays and to be interrogated simultaneously with a single input/output port, all channels are then connected in parallel by using a 1 × n taper-type equal power splitter and a n × 1 S-type power combiner in the input port and output port, respectively (n is the channel number). The concept model of PI-1DPC-NCSA is displayed with a 3-parallel-channel 1DPC-NCSs array containing series-connected 1DPC-NBFs. The bulk refractive index sensitivities as high as 112.6nm/RIU, 121.7nm/RIU, and 148.5nm/RIU are obtained (RIU = Refractive Index Unit). In particular, the footprint of the 3-parallel-channel PI-1DPC-NCSA is 4.5µm × 50µm (width × length), decreased by more than three orders of magnitude compared to 2D PC integrated sensor arrays. Thus, this is a promising platform for realizing ultra-compact lab-on-a-chip applications with high integration density and high parallel-multiplexing capabilities.

Tunable high-order sideband spectra generation using a photonic molecule optomechanical system.

A tunable high-order sideband spectra generation scheme is presented by using a photonic molecule optomechanical system coupled to a waveguide beyond the perturbation regime. The system is coherently driven by a two-tone laser consisting of a continuous-wave control field and a pulsed driving field which propagates through the waveguide. The frequency spectral feature of the output field is analyzed via numerical simulations, and we confirm that under the condition of intense and nanosecond pulse driving, the output spectrum exhibits the properties of high-order sideband frequency spectra. In the experimentally available parameter range, the output spectrum can be efficiently tuned by the system parameters, including the power of the driving pulse and the coupling rate between the cavities. In addition, analysis of the carrier-envelop phase-dependent effect of high-order sideband generation indicates that the system may present dependence upon the phase of the pulse. This may provide a further insight of the properties of cavity optomechanics in the nonlinear and non-perturbative regime, and may have potential applications in optical frequency comb and communication based on the optomechanical platform.

High-Q and high-sensitivity width-modulated photonic crystal single nanobeam air-mode cavity for refractive index sensing.

We propose a novel optical sensor based on a one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PhC) single nanobeam air-mode cavity (SNAC). The performance of the device is investigated theoretically. By introducing a quadratically modulated width tapering structure, a waveguide-coupled 1D-PhC SNAC with a calculated high quality factor of 5.16×10(6) and an effective mode volume of V(eff)∼2.18(λ/n(si))(3) can be achieved. For the air mode mentioned above, the light field can be strongly localized inside the air region (low index) and overlaps sufficiently with the analytes. Thus, the suggested PhC SNAC can be used for high-sensitivity refractive index sensing with an estimated high sensitivity of 537.8 nm/RIU. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first PhC single nanobeam geometry that features both high Q-factors and high sensitivity, and is potentially an ideal platform for realizing ultracompact lab-on-a-chip applications with dense arrays of functionalized spots for multiplexed sensing.

Low-loss, efficient, wide-angle 1 × 4 power splitter at ∼1.55 µm wavelengths for four play applications built with a monolithic photonic crystal slab.

We exhibit a low-loss, efficient, and wide-angle 1×4 power splitter based on a silicon monolithic photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice air holes. A distinctive power-splitting ratio can be obtained depending on the hole shift in the bending region and the structure adjustment at the junction area with regard to the power splitter designed. Simulation results achieved with a rigorous finite-difference time-domain technique show that the TE-polarized light is designed to ensure single-mode operation and the transmitted power is distributed almost equally, with a total transmission of 93.4% at the 1550 nm optical operation wavelength. Furthermore, we demonstrate ultralow-loss output of the optimized power splitter, with a transmittance above 22.5% (-6.48 dB) achieved in the ranges of 1524-1594 and 1610-1620 nm, which cover the entire C-band and a large portion of the L-band of optical communication.

Nanoscale photonic crystal sensor arrays on monolithic substrates using side-coupled resonant cavity arrays.

We present nanoscale photonic crystal sensor arrays (NPhCSAs) on monolithic substrates. The NPhCSAs can be used as an opto-fluidic architecture for performing highly parallel, label-free detection of biochemical interactions in aqueous environments. The architecture consists of arrays of lattice-shifted resonant cavities side-coupled to a single PhC waveguide. Each resonant cavity has slightly different cavity spacing and is shown to independently shift its resonant peak (a single and narrow drop) in response to the changes in refractive index. The extinction ratio of well-defined single drop exceeds 20 dB. With three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) technique, we demonstrate that the refractive index sensitivity of 115.60 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) is achieved and a refractive index detection limit is approximately of 8.65×10-5 for this device. In addition, the sensitivity can be adjusted from 84.39 nm/RIU to 161.25 nm/RIU by changing the number of functionalized holes.