Time-reflection of microwaves by a fast optically-controlled time-boundary

Abstract

Abstract When an electromagnetic (EM) wave propagates in a medium whose properties are varied abruptly in time, the wave experiences refractions and reflections known as time-refractions and time-reflections, both manifesting spectral translation as a consequence of the abrupt change of the medium and the conservation of momentum. However, while the time-refracted wave continues to propagate with the same wave-vector, the time-reflected wave propagates backward with a conjugate phase despite the lack of any spatial interface. Importantly, while time-refraction is always significant, observing time-reflection poses a major challenge – because it requires a large change in the medium occurring within a single cycle of the EM wave. For that reason, time-reflection of EM waves was observed only recently. Here, we present the observation of microwave pulses at the highest frequency ever observed (0.59 GHz), and the experimental evidence of the phase-conjugation nature of time-reflected waves. Our experiments are carried out in a periodically-loaded microstrip line with optically-controlled picosecond-switchable photodiodes. Our system paves the way to the experimental realization of Photonic Time-Crystals at GHz frequencies.