Optomechanically induced nonreciprocity in a three-mode optomechanical system

Abstract

We propose to create optical nonreciprocity in a three-mode optomechanical system comprising one mechanical and two optical modes, where the mechanical mode is coupled with only one of the optical modes. The optical nonreciprocal response of the system is based on the nonlinearity induced by the optomechanical interaction. However, nonlinearity is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for observing nonreciprocity. Another necessary condition for nonreciprocal response of the system to a classical driving field is demonstrated analytically. The effects of the parameters on the nonreciprocal response of the system are discussed numerically. The three-mode optomechanical system provides a platform to realize nonreciprocity for strong optical signal fields.

Optimal unidirectional amplification induced by optical gain in optomechanical systems

“…We would like to note that the similar condition of optical nonreciprocity has also been reported in Ref. [37] in a similar three-mode opotomechanical system without the optical gain.…”

“…For the nonreciprocal device based on the nonlinearity in the three-mode optomechanical system [37], the optical diode is achieved and the value of the maximum transmission coefficients is usually smaller than one. This subsection will show the optical unidirectional amplification assisted by the optical gain.…”

“…For the case without optical gain [37], the value of the transmission coefficient is usually smaller than 1 and the optical diode was achieved. With the aid of the optical gain in the three-mode optomechanical system, we find in this work that the value of the transmission coefficient in one direction can be much larger than 1, while in the opposite direction it can be much smaller than 1.…”

Nonreciprocity via Nonlinearity and Synthetic Magnetism

“…The combination of synthetic magnetism and nonlinearity is a general method to show both nonreciprocal transmission and nonreciprocal photon blockade simultaneously, and could be implemented in photonic systems, microwave superconducting circuits, and optomechanical systems [55,56]. Our work can also be extended to a wide range of systems with the Kerr nonlinearity replaced by second-order nonlinearity [57], optomechanical interaction [15][16][17], and the interaction to a two-level quantum emitter [18] or two-level atomic ensemble [19].…”

“…In recent years, many works have reported the construction of optical isolators in an asymmetric nonlinear optical molecule, which consists of two coupled cavities with one of them containing nonlinear interactions, such as Kerr nonlinear interaction [13,14], optomechanical interaction [15][16][17], and the interaction to a two-level quantum emitter [18] or two-level atomic ensemble [19]. To demonstrate nonreciprocity in these isolators, the amplitude of the input field is usually pretty large, and such isolators are constrained by a dynamic reciprocity relation for the input fields with small amplitude [20].…”