Nonlinear adiabatic optical isolator

TL;DR

This paper proposes a robust, tunable, and broadband nonlinear optical isolator based on adiabatic sum frequency generation in a chirped crystal, capable of ultrafast all-optical switching without dynamic reciprocity limitations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel adiabatic nonlinear optical isolation method that overcomes limitations of existing techniques, enabling ultrafast, tunable, and broadband optical isolation.

Findings

Method is robust to design variations

Provides ultrafast all-optical switching

Operates with broadband tunability

Abstract

We theoretically propose a method for optical isolation based on adiabatic nonlinear sum frequency generation in a chirped quasi-phase-matching crystal with strong absorption at the generated sum frequency wave. The method does not suffer from limitations of dynamic reciprocity found in other nonlinear optical isolation methods, and can provide tunable optical isolation with ultrafast all-optical switching capability. Moreover, as an adiabatic technique it is robust to variations in the optical design and is relatively broadband.