Broadband and lossless lithium niobate valley photonic crystal waveguide [Invited]

We investigate the influences of structure parameters and interface shapes on the bandwidth of the edge state of lithium niobate valley photonic crystals. By increasing the size difference of two air holes in the same unit cell, we find that the bandwidth of the lossless nontrivial edge state possesses a peak value of 0.0201(a/λ), which can be used to construct broadband valley photonic crystal waveguides. Mode field distributions verify that the waveguide is robust against sharp bends and exhibits chirality. When the unit cell is arranged in a bearded interface with the top and bottom components showing negative and positive valley Chern numbers, respectively, we find that the lithium niobate valley photonic crystal is more likely to exhibit a lossless edge state, which is difficult to be realized in valley waveguides with low refractive index materials. This work can provide guidance on the design of the high-performance topological waveguide.     

High-Q factor photonic crystal cavities with cut air holes [Invited]

Planar photonic crystal(PPC)cavities with high quality(Q)factors were currently designed by missing or moving air holes.Here,we propose that cutting air holes in PPC into semicircles could be considered as another strategy to realize and optimize cavities,presenting superiorities over cavities with missed or moved air holes in a higher Q factor and a smaller mode volume(V_(mode)).Examples are demonstrated:(1)in a PPC lattice,cutting two adjacent air holes promises a cavity mode with a Q exceeding 200,500 and an ultrasmall mode volume V_(mode)0.329(λ/2 n)~3;(2)in a PPC waveguide,cutting two air holes on opposite sides of the waveguide supports a cavity mode with a Q exceeding 104,600 and a V_(mode)1.22(λ/2 n)~3;(3)cutting the two air holes at the edges of an L3-type PPC cavity,the Q factor is optimized from 5500 to 124,700,with an almost constant V_(mode).The concept of cutting air holes to introduce defects in PPC also promises the design of PPC also waveguides with an engineered transmission loss and dispersion.     

Mode division multiplexing: from photonic integration to optical fiber transmission [Invited]

To overcome the capacity crunch of optical communications based on the traditional single-mode fiber(SMF), different modes in a few-mode fiber(FMF) can be employed for mode division multiplexing(MDM). MDM can also be extended to photonic integration for obtaining improved density and efficiency, as well as interconnection capacity. Therefore, MDM becomes the most promising method for maintaining the trend of "Moore's law" in photonic integration and optical fiber transmission. In this tutorial, we provide a review of MDM works and cutting-edge progresses from photonic integration to optical fiber transmission, including our recent works of MDM low-noise amplification, FMF fiber design, MDM Si photonic devices, and so on. Research and application challenges of MDM for optical communications regarding long-haul transmission and short reach interconnection are discussed as well. The content is expected to be of important value for both academic researchers and industrial engineers during the development of next-generation optical communication systems,from photonic chips to fiber links.     

Topological photonic states in gyromagnetic photonic crystals: Physics,properties, and applications

Topological photonic states (TPSs) as a new type of waveguide state with one-way transport property can resist backscattering and are impervious to defects, disorders and metallic obstacles. Gyromagnetic photonic crystal (GPC) is the first artificial microstructure to implement TPSs, and it is also one of the most important platforms for generating truly one-way TPSs and exploring their novel physical properties, transport phenomena, and advanced applications. Herein, we present a brief review of the fundamental physics, novel properties, and practical applications of TPSs based on GPCs. We first examine chiral one-way edge states existing in uniformly magnetized GPCs of ordered and disordered lattices, antichiral one-way edge states in cross magnetized GPCs, and robust one-way bulk states in heterogeneously magnetized GPCs. Then, we discuss the strongly coupling effect between two co-propagating (or counter-propagating) TPSs and the resulting physical phenomena and device applications. Finally, we analyze the key issues and prospect the future development trends for TPSs in GPCs. The purpose of this brief review is to provide an overview of the main features of TPSs in GPC systems and offer a useful guidance and motivation for interested scientists and engineers working in related scientific and technological areas.     

Morse lens [Invited]

In this Letter, we find that Morse potential(proposed about 90 years ago) could be connected to Coulomb potential(or Newton potential) and harmonic potential(or Hooke potential) by conformal mappings. We thereby design a new conformal lens from Morse potential, Eaton lens, and Luneburg lens and propose a series of generalized Eaton/Luneburg lenses. We find that this Morse lens is a perfect self-focusing asymmetric lens that differs from a Mikaelian lens. Our theory provides a new insight to Morse potential and other traditional potentials, and revisits their classical applications on designing lenses.     

Photonic discrete-time quantum walks [Invited]

Quantum walks, a counterpart of classical random walks, have many applications due to their neoteric features.Since they were first proposed, quantum walks have been explored in many fields theoretically and have also been demonstrated experimentally in various physical systems. In this paper, we review the experimental realizations of discrete-time quantum walks in photonic systems with different physical structures, such as bulk optics and time-multiplexed framework. Then, some typical applications using quantum walks are introduced. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of these physical systems are discussed.     

Optically controlled phase array antenna [Invited]

To overcome the beam squint in wide instantaneous frequency, we review a number of system-level optical controlled phase array antennas for beam forming. The optical delay network based on a fiber device in terms of topological structure of an N-bit optical switch, fiber grating, high-dispersion fiber, and vector-sum technology is discussed, respectively. Lastly, an integrated circuit is simply summarized.     

Applications of weakly-coupled few-mode fibers[Invited]

Space-division multiplexing(SDM) has attracted significant attention in recent years because larger transmission capacity is enabled by more degrees of freedom(DOFs) in few-mode fibers(FMFs) compared with singlemode fibers(SMFs).To transmit independent information on spatial modes without or with minor digital signal processing(DSP),weakly-coupled FMFs are preferred in various applications.Several cases with different use of spatial DOFs in weakly-coupled FMFs are demonstrated in this work,including single-mode or mode-groupmultiplexed transmission,and spatial DOFs combined with time or frequency DOF to improve the system performance.     

Progress of three-dimensional light-field display [Invited]

In this review, the principle and the optical methods for light-field display are introduced. The light-field display is divided into three categories, including the layer-based method, projector-based method, and integral imaging method. The principle, characteristic, history, and advanced research results of each method are also reviewed.The advantages of light-field display are discussed by comparing it with other display technologies including binocular stereoscopic display, volumetric three-dimensional display, and holographic display.     

Electro-optic polymer ring resonator modulators [Invited]

Electro-optic(EO) ring resonator modulators have a number of communications and scientific applications, including analog optical links, optical signal processing, and frequency comb generation. Among the EO materials used to fabricate ring modulators, the EO polymer has many promising characteristics, including a high EO coefficient of 100–200 pm/V(3–7 times larger than that of Li Nb O3), an ultrafast EO response time( 10 fs), a low dielectric constant(3 to 4) with very little dispersion up to at least 250 GHz, and a straightforward spin-coating fabrication process. These inherent characteristics will be able to combine excellent EO properties with simple processing in achieving exceptional performance in a variety of high-speed optical modulation and sensing devices. This review focuses on the research and recent development of ring resonator modulators based on EO polymers. The first part describes the operation principle of EO ring resonator modulators, such as modulation mechanism, EO tunability, and 3 d B bandwidth. Subsequently, the emphasis is placed on the discussion of the ring modulators with EO polymers as the waveguide core and the improvement of EO modulation by using an EO polymer/titanium dioxide hybrid core. At the end, a series of EO polymers on silicon platforms including slot modulators, etching-free modulators, and athermal modulators are reviewed.     

Topological states in quasicrystals

With the rapid development of topological states in crystals, the study of topological states has been extended to quasicrystals in recent years. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of topological states in quasicrystals, particularly focusing on one-dimensional (1D) and 2D systems. We first give a brief introduction to quasicrystalline structures. Then, we discuss topological phases in 1D quasicrystals where the topological nature is attributed to the synthetic dimensions associated with the quasiperiodic order of quasicrystals. We further present the generalization of various types of crystalline topological states to 2D quasicrystals, where real-space expressions of corresponding topological invariants are introduced due to the lack of translational symmetry in quasicrystals. Finally, since quasicrystals possess forbidden symmetries in crystals such as five-fold and eight-fold rotation, we provide an overview of unique quasicrystalline symmetry-protected topological states without crystalline counterpart.     

Ultra-long-period grating-based multi-wavelength ultrafast fiber laser [Invited]

We propose and demonstrate the cascaded multi-wavelength mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser(EDFL) based on ultralong-period gratings(ULPGs) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Study found that the ULPG can be used as both a mode-locker for pulse shaping and a comb filter for multi-wavelength generation simultaneously. Using the dual-function of ULPG, three-, four-, five-, six-, and seven-wavelength mode-locked pulses are obtained in EDFL, seven of which are the largest number of wavelengths up to now. For the four-wavelength soliton pulses, their pulse width is about 7.8 ps. The maximum average output power and slope efficiency of these pulses are 8.4 m W and 2.03%, respectively. Besides the conventional pulses, hybrid soliton pulses composed of a four-wavelength pulse and single soliton are also observed. Finally, the effect of cavity dispersion on the multi-wavelength mode-locked pulses is also discussed. Our findings indicate that apart from common sensing and filtering, the ULPG may also possess attractive nonlinear pulse-shaping property for ultrafast photonics application.     

On-chip erbium-doped lithium niobate waveguide amplifiers [Invited]

Lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI), as an emerging and promising optical integration platform, faces shortages of on-chip active devices including lasers and amplifiers. Here, we report the fabrication of on-chip erbium-doped LNOI waveguide amplifiers based on electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. A net internal gain of ～30 d B/cm in the communication band was achieved in the fabricated waveguide amplifiers under the pump of a974 nm continuous laser. This work develops new active devices on LNOI and may promote the development of LNOI integrated photonics.     

Topological bound states

In the tight binding approximation, it has been shown that a peculiar type of electronic states localized near the topology change point exists in branching molecules and quantum conductors. Bound states of this type exist both below and above the allowed band, i.e., for both electrons and holes; this property fundamentally differentiates these states from the bound states formed in the minimum of the potential energy. The damping decrement of the wavefunction is independent of the band parameters and is an invariant determined by the characteristic of topology. The tunnel interaction between the topological bound states significantly determines the change in the electronic spectrum of the molecular systems in configuration transitions.     

High-accuracy optical time delay measurement in fiber link [Invited]

Optoelectronic components and subsystems such as optically controlled phased array antennas, distributed radar networks, interferometric optical fiber hydrophones, and high-speed optoelectronic chips demand highaccuracy optical time delay measurement with large measurement range and the capability for single-end and wavelength-dependent measurement. In this paper, the recent advances in the optical time delay measurement of a fiber link with high accuracy are reviewed. The general models of the typical time delay measurement technologies are established with the operational principle analyzed. The performance of these techniques is also discussed.     

Recent achievements on underwater optical wireless communication [Invited]

The growing number of underwater activities is giving momentum to the development of new technologies, such as buoys, remotely operated vehicles, and autonomous underwater vehicles. The data collected by these vehicles need to be transmitted to a high-speed central unit. Clearly, wired solutions are not suitable, since they strongly impact the mobility. In this scenario, a promising solution is offered by underwater optical wireless communication(UOWC) technology, which can achieve both high-speed and wireless operation. Here, we provide a comprehensive survey on the challenges, the experimental realizations, and the state of the art in UOWC researches.     

Photonic microwave filters with ultra-high noise rejection [Invited]

As a key figure-of-merit for high-performance microwave filters, the out-of-band noise rejection is of critical importance in a wide range of applications. This paper overviews the significant advances in photonic microwave filters(PMFs) having ultra-high rejection ratios for out-of-band noise suppression over the last ten years.Typically, two types of PMFs, the bandpass and bandstop ones, are introduced with fundamental principles,detailed approaches, and then cutting-edge results for noise rejection. Ultra-high noise rejection ratios of ～80 d B and 60 dB have been demonstrated for single-passband and single-stopband PMFs, respectively, which are comparable with the state-of-the-art electronic filters operating in stringent conditions. These PMFs are also characterized by wide frequency coverage, low frequency-dependent loss, and strong immunity to electromagnetic interference due to the intrinsic features from the advanced photonics technology.     

Optical-fiber-based powerful tools for living cell manipulation [Invited]

By using a specialty optical fiber, a series of powerful microparticle manipulation tools, including optical tweezers, a micro-optical hand, and an optical gun, are developed and demonstrated. In this paper,a review of our research activities on the optical manipulation of microparticles is presented. In particular,we will describe a kind of specialty optical fiber designed and fabricated for building optical trapping and manipulating tools. The performances of annular core fiber-based optical tweezers, a multicore fiber-based micro-optical hand, and a coaxial dual waveguide fiber-based optical gun are demonstrated as examples of applications and discussed in detail. The fiber can be used in cell manipulation in life science and drug response in medicine.