Ultra-directional high-efficient chiral silicon photonic circuits

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates ultra-directional, high-efficiency chiral coupling in silicon photonic circuits, enabling advanced control of light-matter interactions with potential applications in integrated chiral optics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel silicon photonic circuit design achieving near-perfect chiral coupling efficiency and directionality through mode conversion and interference mechanisms.

Findings

Chiral coupling efficiency exceeds 70%.

Directionality approaches ±1 with circular polarization.

Circuits function as a 3 dB power splitter for linear polarization.

Abstract

Chiral light matter interaction enables new fundamental researches and applications of light. The interaction has traditionally faced challenges in low directionality and efficiency based on spin orbit interaction of light in microscopic waveguides. It is pivotal to exploit photonic integrated circuits to efficiently engineer photonic chiral behavior. Here, we present ultra directional high efficient chiral coupling in silicon photonic circuits based on low order to high order mode conversion and interference. We show that the directionality of chiral coupling, in principle, can approach minus/plus 1 with circular polarization inputs, benefited from the underlying mechanism of complete destructive and constructive interference. The chiral coupling efficiency can exceed 70%, with negligible scattering to nonguided modes, much higher than conventional coupling mechanisms. Moreover, the chiral silicon photonic circuits can function as a perfect 3 dB power splitter for arbitrarily linear polarization inputs, and also open up the possibility of on chip chirality determination to further flourish the development of chiral optics.