Dissipation-assisted few-photon optical diode

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how dissipation can enable a single-photon optical diode in a waveguide-cavity system, achieving unidirectional photon transmission with potential applications in quantum devices.

Contribution

It introduces a dissipation-assisted mechanism for realizing an ideal optical diode at the single-photon level, with analytical scattering amplitude derivations and analysis of two-photon diode properties.

Findings

Achieves unity transmittance from one side and zero from the other at the single-photon level.

Identifies the influence of dissipation on diode performance.

Explores two-photon diode characteristics and system parameter relations.

Abstract

We studied the coherent transport of one or two photons in a one-dimensional waveguide chirally coupled to a dissipative nonlinear cavity. The scattering amplitudes were derived analytically. With the assist of dissipation, we can realize an ideal optical diode at the single-photon level, i. e., the transmittance is unity from one side and zero form the other side. The working area and properties of the two-photon diode are also found. This work details the relation between the diode effect and our system parameters, especially dissipation, which may find it applications in nonreciprocal quantum devices and quantum networks.