Floquet parity-time symmetry in integrated photonics

Weijie Liu, Quancheng Liu, Xiang Ni, Yuechen Jia, Klaus Ziegler, Andrea Alù () and Feng Chen ()
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Weijie Liu: Shandong University
Quancheng Liu: Bar-Ilan University
Xiang Ni: Central South University
Yuechen Jia: Shandong University
Klaus Ziegler: Universität Augsburg
Andrea Alù: City University of New York
Feng Chen: Shandong University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Parity-time (PT) symmetry has been unveiling new photonic regimes in non-Hermitian systems, with opportunities for lasing, sensing and enhanced light-matter interactions. The most exotic responses emerge at the exceptional point (EP) and in the broken PT-symmetry phase, yet in conventional PT-symmetric systems these regimes require large levels of gain and loss, posing remarkable challenges in practical settings. Floquet PT-symmetry, which may be realized by periodically flipping the effective gain/loss distribution in time, can relax these requirements and tailor the EP and PT-symmetry phases through the modulation period. Here, we explore Floquet PT-symmetry in an integrated photonic waveguide platform, in which the role of time is replaced by the propagation direction. We experimentally demonstrate spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking at small gain/loss levels and efficient control of amplification and suppression through the excitation ports. Our work introduces the advantages of Floquet PT-symmetry in a practical integrated photonic setting, enabling a powerful platform to observe PT-symmetric phenomena and leverage their extreme features, with applications in nanophotonics, coherent control of nanoscale light amplification and routing.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45226-x

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