All-optical modulator with photonic topological insulator made of metallic quantum wells
Wang Haiteng,
Niu Junru,
Chen Qiaolu,
Zhao Sihan,
Shao Hua,
Yang Yihao,
Chen Hongsheng,
Li Shilong,
Qian Haoliang
Affiliations
Wang Haiteng
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Niu Junru
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Chen Qiaolu
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Zhao Sihan
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials, and Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, School of Physics, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310058, China
Shao Hua
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Yang Yihao
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Chen Hongsheng
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Li Shilong
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
Qian Haoliang
Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, 12377Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310027, China
All-optical modulators hold significant prospects for future information processing technologies for they are able to process optical signals without the electro-optical convertor which limits the achievable modulation bandwidth. However, owing to the hardly-controlled optical backscattering in the commonly-used device geometries and the weak optical nonlinearities of the conventional material systems, constructing an all-optical modulator with a large bandwidth and a deep modulation depth in an integration manner is still challenging. Here, we propose an approach to achieving an on-chip ultrafast all-optical modulator with ultra-high modulation efficiency and a small footprint by using photonic topological insulators (PTIs) made of metallic quantum wells (MQWs). Since PTIs have attracted significant attention because of their unidirectional propagating edge states, which mitigate optical backscattering caused by structural imperfections or defects. Meanwhile, MQWs have shown a large Kerr nonlinearity, facilitating the development of minimally sized nonlinear optical devices including all-optical modulators. The proposed photonic topological modulator shows a remarkable modulation depth of 15 dB with a substantial modulation bandwidth above THz in a tiny footprint of only 4 × 10 µm2, which manifests itself as one of the most compact optical modulators compared with the reported ones possessing a bandwidth above 100 GHz. Such a high-performance optical modulator could enable new functionalities in future optical communication and information processing systems.
