Mechanically tunable integrated beamsplitters on a flexible polymer platform

Grieve, James A.; Ng, Kian Fong; Rodrigues, Manuel J. L. F.; Viana-Gomes, José; Ling, Alexander

doi:10.1063/1.4998299

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Experimentally, our approach requires a waveguide array be fabricated on a suitable platform to enable controlled modification of the coupling coefficient. In our earlier work [25], we developed a waveguide platform in the soft polymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and demonstrated continuous tuning of a single beamsplitter by stretching of the host chip. The ability to control the separation between neighbouring waveguides of an array through applied strain allows us to vary the coupling coefficient at a fixed wavelength, without significantly affecting the device length.…”

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confidence: 99%

Mapping a quantum walk by tuning the coupling coefficient

Rodrigues

Viana-Gomes

et al. 2020

Opt. Lett.

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We present a method to map the evolution of photonic random walks that is compatible with nonclassical input light. Our approach leverages a newly developed flexible waveguide platform to tune the jumping rate between spatial modes, allowing the observation of a range of evolution times in a chip of fixed length. In a proof-of-principle demonstration we reconstruct the evolution of photons through a uniform array of coupled waveguides by monitoring the end-face alone. This approach enables direct observation of mode occupancy at arbitrary resolution, extending the utility of photonic random walks for quantum simulations and related applications.Quantum walks have been studied extensively in the context of quantum computing and simulation [1][2][3][4]. Systems built around a quantum walk have been proposed as physical simulators for a wide variety of quantum [5] and classical [6] phenomena. When random walks are leveraged for physical simulation the dynamics and evolution of the random walker as it traverses the graph are often of primary interest.In the experimental domain, quantum walks have been demonstrated across a range of physical systems, employing trapped particles [7-9] and photons [10][11][12][13][14][15]. The field of photonic quantum walks is particularly developed, owing to the ease of access to long coherence times and the ability to perform high fidelity manipulation of single particles using relatively low cost devices. Within this class, devices comprising waveguide arrays have proved popular due to their favourable scaling properties [16].When simulating a physical system, the evolution of the quantum walker is commonly inferred by monitoring fluorescence in the host device [11,[17][18][19]. Unfortunately, this signal is able to capture only the intensity of the propagating optical modes, and so is unsuitable for following the evolution of more complicated inputs, for example multi-photon entangled states. Systems which leverage these inputs are only able to obtain a snapshot of the random walk at a fixed propagation length corresponding to the output plane [20]. Even where the evolution of the walker is not of primary interest, access to this information may be desired as a diagnostic or calibration tool.We have designed and implemented an optical circuit in which the evolution of a photonic quantum walk can be observed in a chip of constant length. In our system, a sequence of observations at the end face combined with appropriate tuning of the device parameters exposes the evolution of the input state in a manner that is compatible with single photon intensities, and extensible to multiphoton states. We demonstrate this technique by implementing the well-studied [12] one dimensional, continuous-time random walk on a uniform graph.A continuous-time, discrete-space quantum walk on a one-dimensional graph comprising a set of vertices connected with edges (as depicted in Fig 1, middle row) can be realized physically by injecting photons into an array of identical, continuously coupled waveguides....

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Mapping a quantum walk by tuning the coupling coefficient

Rodrigues

Viana-Gomes

et al. 2020

Opt. Lett.

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“…Potential applications include among others rapid-protoyping, foundational material studies and lab-on-a-chip systems. [30][31][32][33][34] An additional advantage is the environmental shielding that encapsulation provides for emitters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mode‐Center Placement of Monolayer WS₂ in a Photonic Polymer Waveguide

Frank

Zhou

Grieve

et al. 2021

Advanced Optical Materials

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optical properties in both linear and non-linear regimes. [1][2][3][4] They have also been shown to be capable of hosting single-photon emitters. [5][6][7] Besides the tunability of their bandgap in response to electric fields, [8,9] TMDs' exciton dynamics can be further modified through stacking into van der Waals heterostructures, [10] chemical doping, [11] and application of mechanical strain. [12] These properties are of particular interest in the context of Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) where the goal is to couple a photon-routing structure to elements with strong and tunable optical response. [13] Such circuits find applications in optical communication, [14] computation, [15] and sensing. [16][17][18] Integration of TMDs into photonic waveguides can be readily achieved by direct transfer, taking advantage of the material's van der Waals bonding nature. [19,20] To date, most hybrid systems with an optically coupled 2D material realize placement away from the photonic mode's maximum (off-center placement) or at a dielectric interface, for example, close to an exposed fiber core, [21,22] at the end-faceThe effective integration of 2D materials such as monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) into photonic waveguides and integrated circuits is being intensely pursued due to these materials' strong exciton-based optical response. This work presents a platform where a 2D heterostructure (WS 2 -hBN) is directly integrated into the photonic mode-center of a novel polymer ridge waveguide. Finite-difference time-domain simulations and collection of photoluminescence from the guided mode indicate that this system exhibits significantly improved waveguide-emitter coupling and mode confinement over a previous elastomer platform. This is facilitated by the platform's enhanced refractive-index contrast and a new method for mode-center integration of the coupled TMD. The integration is based on a simple dry-transfer process that is applicable to other 2D materials, and the platform's elastomeric nature is a natural fit to explore strain-tunable hybridphotonic devices. The demonstrated ability of coupling photoluminescence to a polymer waveguide opens up new possibilities for hybrid-photonic systems in a variety of contexts.

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“…A beam splitter is an essential component in various optical and photonic applications for separating lights with different polarizations, wavelengths, and powers [1]- [5]. Traditional beam splitters based on waveguides [6]- [8], gratings [9]- [11] and polymer platforms [12] are bulky and heavy, which limit their applications in compact and cost-effective systems. Metamaterials (MMs) are smartly engineered structures with rationally designed, nanostructured building blocks that allow us to no longer be constrained by the electromagnetic response of natural materials and their chemical compounds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoscale Noncoplanar Beam Splitters With Tunable Split Ratio

Tian

Guo

et al. 2020

IEEE Photonics J.

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Beam splitters, especially those with tunable split ratios, play significant role in interferometers, spectrometers, and communication systems. To this end, we proposed a polarization-controllable beam splitter based on dielectric metasurface composed of an array of dielectric pillars. The dielectric metasurface presents phase gradients along two orthogonal directions, say, x-and y-axis, with each phase gradient applicable to one of two orthogonal linear polarizations. Due to the orthogonality of the dual phase gradients in both position and polarization, an elliptically polarized incident beam can be diffracted into two refracted beams, one lies within xoz plane and the other in yoz plane. More importantly, the split ratio of the two refracted beams is continuously tunable by changing the ellipticity of incident beam. Under extreme case, x-or y-polarized incident beam is refracted into one beam, but in different planes for different kind of linear polarization. Besides, the refracted angle of each refracted beam in respective refracted plane can be easily set by adjusting the phase difference of adjacent rows or columns of metasurface. With same method, a polarization-controllable dual-wavelength beam splitter is also achieved on the basis of phase-gradient metasurface. Such a noncoplanar beam splitter with tunable split ratios may play significant role in novel miniature optical devices and systems.

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Mechanically tunable integrated beamsplitters on a flexible polymer platform

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

Mapping a quantum walk by tuning the coupling coefficient

Mapping a quantum walk by tuning the coupling coefficient

Mode‐Center Placement of Monolayer WS₂ in a Photonic Polymer Waveguide

Nanoscale Noncoplanar Beam Splitters With Tunable Split Ratio

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Mechanically tunable integrated beamsplitters on a flexible polymer platform

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

Mapping a quantum walk by tuning the coupling coefficient

Mapping a quantum walk by tuning the coupling coefficient

Mode‐Center Placement of Monolayer WS2 in a Photonic Polymer Waveguide

Nanoscale Noncoplanar Beam Splitters With Tunable Split Ratio

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Mode‐Center Placement of Monolayer WS₂ in a Photonic Polymer Waveguide