Highlighting photonics: looking into the next decade

Abstract

Let there be light–to change the world we want to be! Over the past several decades, and ever since the birth of the first laser, mankind has witnessed the development of the science of light, as light-based technologies have revolutionarily changed our lives. Needless to say, photonics has now penetrated into many aspects of science and technology, turning into an important and dynamically changing field of increasing interdisciplinary interest. In this inaugural issue of eLight, we highlight a few emerging trends in photonics that we think are likely to have major impact at least in the upcoming decade, spanning from integrated quantum photonics and quantum computing, through topological/non-Hermitian photonics and topological insulator lasers, to AI-empowered nanophotonics and photonic machine learning. This Perspective is by no means an attempt to summarize all the latest advances in photonics, yet we wish our subjective vision could fuel inspiration and foster excitement in scientific research especially for young researchers who love the science of light.

From Dyakonov-Cherenkov radiation to Dyakonov surface optics

“…In particular, Dyakonov surface waves can be excited in an all-dielectric platform, and hence, they generally have longer propagation lengths than the well known surface plasmons, even at low frequencies. This advantage makes Dyakonov surface waves an alternative platform for future on-chip communications at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies 8 .…”

Nonlinear topological valley Hall edge states arising from type-II Dirac cones

“…[17][18][19][20] Thus, our work on nonlinear VHE states in engineered type-II lattices will surely stimulate further interest in topological photonics-an area that will continue to grow in the next decade. 82…”

Thirty Years in Silicon Photonics: A Personal View

“…Even, programmable photonic circuits that can be reconfigured using a software have been demonstrated [253], which moves photonics along the similar path from ASIC (application-specific integrated circuits) to FPGA of electronics. From a basic science perspective, research on topological systems (see Chapter 8 in [9]), non-hermitian systems (see Chapter 7 in [9]), and devices based on exceptional point physics [146] provides many new phenomena and device concepts [254]. Thus, at the end of this 30-year-long journey, I belive that photonics made with complex silicon circuitry has yet to unveil new physics from which new understanding and new applications can emerge.…”