Active tuning of hybridized modes in a heterogeneous photonic molecule

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates thermal control of hybridized modes in a heterogeneous photonic molecule, enabling active tuning of super-mode properties for advanced photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to actively tune hybridized optical modes in a heterogenous cavity system using thermal control, supported by theoretical and experimental analysis.

Findings

Thermal tuning effectively modifies super-mode composition.

Derived analytic expressions for mode profiles and frequencies.

Experimental validation of active mode control.

Abstract

From fundamental discovery to practical application, advances in the optical and quantum sciences rely upon precise control of light-matter interactions. Systems of coupled optical cavities are ubiquitous in these efforts, yet design and active modification of the hybridized mode properties remains challenging. In this Letter, we demonstrate the ability to thermally control the degree of hybridization in a heterogeneous photonic molecule composed of a ring resonator strongly coupled to a nanobeam photonic crystal cavity. Combining theory and experiment, we show that the composition of the resulting super-modes can be actively tailored and we derive temperature-dependent analytic expressions for the super-mode profiles, frequencies, and volumes. This work illustrates the potential for actively tunable, designer photonic properties using heterogeneous optical cavity devices.