Edge-Mode Lasing in 1D Topological Active Arrays

Parto, Midya; Wittek, Steffen; Hodaei, Hossein; Harari, Gal; Bandres, Miguel A.; Ren, Jinhan; Rechtsman, Mikael C.; Segev, Mordechai; Christodoulides, Demetrios N.; Khajavikhan, Mercedeh

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.120.113901

Cited by 526 publications

(447 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…This anomalous response permits to manipulate the life time of the topological modes by appropriate distributions of gain and loss, which results in a topological mechanism of mode selection (see figure 1). Over the past months, three variants of these lasers have indeed been realized [37][38][39], confirming the viability of this idea in practice. The topological mode selection realized in these experiments directly addresses a precisely predetermined mode that exists without any further spectral phase transitions, and from the outset makes optimal use of the provided gain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Nonlinear mode competition and symmetry-protected power oscillations in topological lasers

Malzard

Schomerus

2018

New J. Phys.

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Topological photonics started out as a pursuit to engineer systems that mimic fermionic single-particle Hamiltonians with symmetry-protected modes, whose number can only change in spectral phase transitions such as band inversions. The paradigm of topological lasing, realized in three recent experiments, offers entirely new interpretations of these states, as they can be selectively amplified by distributed gain and loss. A key question is whether such topological mode selection persists when one accounts for the nonlinearities that stabilize these systems at their working point. Here we show that topological defect lasers can indeed stably operate in genuinely topological states. These comprise direct analogues of zero modes from the linear setting, as well as a novel class of states displaying symmetry-protected power oscillations, which appear in a spectral phase transition when the gain is increased. These effects show a remarkable practical resilience against imperfections, even if these break the underlying symmetries, and pave the way to harness the power of topological protection in nonlinear quantum devices.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Nonlinear mode competition and symmetry-protected power oscillations in topological lasers

Malzard

Schomerus

2018

New J. Phys.

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“…The first geometry in which lasing in topological edge states was demonstrated is a one-dimensional lattice of coupled photonic resonators implementing the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) Hamiltonian [23][24][25]. This tight-binding model was initially introduced to describe the electronic transport in the polyacetilene molecules and it provides one of the simplest lattice models with topological properties.…”

Section: One-dimensional Topological Microcavity and Microring Lasersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Refs. [24,25], the strategy was to employ the longitudinal photonic modes of evanescently coupled ring resonators made of InGaAsP, a material with optical gain at telecom wavelengths. The alternating couplings t and t' were engineered via the staggered separation between adjacent rings.…”

Section: One-dimensional Topological Microcavity and Microring Lasersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, it is nonzero in the sublattice corresponding to the site located at the edge of the lattice (Ref. [24]) or at the interface site (Ref. [25]).…”

Section: One-dimensional Topological Microcavity and Microring Lasersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each site cavity can be composed of a micropillar [23] (Fig. 1(a)) or a microring resonator [24,25] (Fig. 1(b) and (c)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Active topological photonics

et al. 2020

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Topological photonics has emerged as a novel route to engineer the flow of light. Topologically-protected photonic edge modes, which are supported at the perimeters of topologically-nontrivial insulating bulk structures, have been of particular interest as they may enable low-loss optical waveguides immune to structural disorder. Very recently, there is a sharp rise of interest in introducing gain materials into such topological photonic structures, primarily aiming at revolutionizing semiconductor lasers with the aid of physical mechanisms existing in topological physics. Examples of remarkable realizations are topological lasers with unidirectional light output under time-reversal symmetry breaking and topologically-protected polariton and micro/nano-cavity lasers. Moreover, the introduction of gain and loss provides a fascinating playground to explore novel topological phases, which are in close relevance to non-Hermitian and paritytime symmetric quantum physics and are in general difficult to access using fermionic condensed matter systems. Here, we review the cutting-edge research on active topological photonics, in which optical gain plays a pivotal role. We discuss recent realizations of topological lasers of various kinds, together with the underlying physics explaining the emergence of topological edge modes. In such demonstrations, the optical modes of the topological lasers are determined by the dielectric structures and support lasing oscillation with the help of optical gain. We also address recent researches on topological photonic systems in which gain and loss themselves essentially influence on topological properties of the bulk systems. We believe that active topological photonics provides powerful means to advance micro/nanophotonics systems for diverse applications and topological physics itself as well.

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Parity–Time Symmetry Synthetic Lasers: Physics and Devices

Chen

et al. 2019

Advanced Optical Materials

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The invention of the laser has revolutionized modern science and engineering as well as our daily lives. Recently, a new class of lasers based on concepts borrowed from parity–time symmetry in quantum mechanics has emerged. Parity–time symmetry, initially applied to condensed matter systems, extends canonical quantum theory to non‐Hermitian quantum theory. The experimental exploration of parity–time symmetry in electronics is challenging; so by analogy, such concept is introduced in photonics where flexibility exists in realizing non‐Hermitian eigenstates involving optical gain and loss. Lasers intrinsically involve both gain and loss, which makes them the natural candidates to explore and exploit parity–time symmetry in photonics. Recent studies have demonstrated various novel laser devices based on parity–time symmetry, which show unique properties such as single mode lasing, chiral mode lasing, and exceptional point enhanced sensing. In this review, the fundamentals are introduced and recent advances in parity–time symmetric laser devices are discussed, furthermore an outlook on this emergent field is provided.

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Edge-Mode Lasing in 1D Topological Active Arrays

Cited by 526 publications

References 39 publications

Nonlinear mode competition and symmetry-protected power oscillations in topological lasers

Nonlinear mode competition and symmetry-protected power oscillations in topological lasers

Active topological photonics

Parity–Time Symmetry Synthetic Lasers: Physics and Devices

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