Chongfan Technology
News
26
2025
-
02
Electro-optic modulation enhanced by singularity
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Singularity(Exceptional Point, EP) has been widely studied in mechanical, acoustic, plasma, and photonic systems. However, the understanding of the role of singularities in adjusting the dynamic tunability of optical devices is still limited.
Recently, from the University of Delaware,Professor Gu Tingyiand his team used asymmetric Mie scatterers to break the rotational symmetry of micro-ring resonators to demonstrate deterministic thermal tuning across singularities. The edges of the micro-ring resonator (Micro-ring resonator, MRR) utilize asymmetric Mie scatterers fabricated by photolithography to achieve singularities, which not only provide the much-needed mechanical stability for the study of singularities but also help reduce losses caused by nanofabrication defects, thereby promoting research on singularities and their contributions to the dynamics and tunability of micro-ring resonators.
The enhanced response of singularities to small perturbations makes them quite attractive in sensing, efficient electro-optic signal conversion, optical interconnects, and isolators. However, their realization faces challenges of mechanical instability and manufacturing-related defects. Overcoming these challenges and constructing mechanically stable singularity systems will allow for precise control of key parameters and enable exploration of enhanced non-Hermitian photonic systems. To address these issues, the research team fabricated a silicon photonic micro-ring resonator with two photolithographically manufactured asymmetric Mie scatterers.
This research not only opens a new direction for chiral silicon photonics but also has four important implications.
First, Mie scatterers designed with spatial asymmetry using nanotechnology can lead the system to singularities.
Second, by adjusting only one optical path between the two asymmetric scatterers, using a highly localized heater or electro-optic tuning, the tuner can control the intra-ring coupling coefficient between clockwise and counterclockwise modes, bringing the system closer to or further from the singularity.
Third, in this micro-ring resonator, not only can mode splitting be observed, but it can also be combined with theory.
Fourth, based on the characteristics of the singularity micro-ring resonator, it is suitable for achieving unidirectional data flow between transmitting electronic integrated circuits (EICs) and receiving EICs.
Figure 1. Working principle and applications of the chiral singularity modulator.(a) Schematic diagram of the micro-ring resonator, containing low-loss asymmetric Mie scatterers fabricated by photolithography, which mediates the asymmetric coupling between clockwise and counterclockwise modes. (b) Image captured by a three-dimensional imaging laser microscope, showing the non-Hermitian photonic modulator coupled with add-drop waveguides embedded in oxides, manufactured by foundry wafer production. (c) Application scenario, achieving unidirectional data flow between transmitting EICs and receiving EICs. In traditional micro-ring resonators, to avoid crosstalk (gray area), repeated circuit topologies need to be used for the transmitting and receiving ports.
This study demonstrates that non-Hermitian characteristics in optical resonators can be achieved by designing and patterning Mie scatterers into micro-ring resonators. The amplitude and phase of the reflectivity of Mie scatterers can be controlled through thermal tuning or electro-optic tuning. Fine-tuning the phase between scatterers can controllably guide the resonator to and away from the singularity and adjust the effective photon lifetimes of clockwise and counterclockwise modes. This singularity characteristic can be used to achieve unidirectional data flow between transmitting and receiving electronic integrated circuits. This research not only opens new directions for silicon-based chiral photonics but also further promotes the exploration of singularities through the combination of theoretical analysis and experimental results.
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