Parity-time synthetic photonic lattices
Parity-time synthetic photonic lattices
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DOI：
10.1038/nature11298
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发表时间：
2012-08-09
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Peschel, Ulf
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Regensburger, Alois;Bersch, Christoph;Peschel, Ulf
新的人工结构和材料的开发是当今光学研究的主要挑战之一。在迄今为止的大多数研究中，这种结构的设计是基于对其折射率特性的明智操纵。最近，提出了同时使用增益和损耗的前景，作为实现光学行为的新方法，这是目前用标准装置无法实现的。促进这些探索的是最近发展起来的光学系统中的“奇偶时间对称性”概念，它允许增益和损耗之间的受控相互作用。在这里，我们报告的实验观察到的光传输的大规模的时间晶格是宇称时间对称的。此外，我们表明，尊重这种对称性的周期性结构可以作为单向不可见的媒体时，他们的例外点附近操作。我们的实验结果代表了一个步骤，从奇偶时间对称的概念应用到新一代的多功能光学设备和网络。
The development of new artificial structures and materials is today one of the major research challenges in optics. In most studies so far, the design of such structures has been based on the judicious manipulation of their refractive index properties. Recently, the prospect of simultaneously using gain and loss was suggested as a new way of achieving optical behaviour that is at present unattainable with standard arrangements. What facilitated these quests is the recently developed notion of 'parity-time symmetry' in optical systems, which allows a controlled interplay between gain and loss. Here we report the experimental observation of light transport in large-scale temporal lattices that are parity-time symmetric. In addition, we demonstrate that periodic structures respecting this symmetry can act as unidirectional invisible media when operated near their exceptional points. Our experimental results represent a step in the application of concepts from parity-time symmetry to a new generation of multifunctional optical devices and networks.