arXiv subjects

Tyler J. Zimmerling

Publications and source records attributed to Tyler J. Zimmerling.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Enhanced quantum emission from a topological Floquet resonance

Entanglement is a valuable resource in quantum information technologies. The practical implementation of entangled photon sources faces obstacles from imperfections and defects inherent in physical systems, resulting in a loss or degradation of entanglement. The topological photonic insulators, however, have emerged as promising candidates, demonstrating an exceptional capability to resist defect-induced scattering, thus enabling the development of robust entangled sources. Despite their inherent advantages, building programmable topologically protected entangled sources remains challenging due to complex device designs and weak material nonlinearity. Here we present a development in entangled photon pair generation achieved through a non-magnetic and tunable anomalous Floquet insulator, utilizing an optical spontaneous four-wave mixing process. We verify the non-classicality and time-energy entanglement of the photons generated by our topological system. Our experiment demonstrates a substantial enhancement in nonclassical photon pair generation compared to devices reliant only on topological edge states. Our result could lead to the development of resilient quantum sources with potential applications in quantum technology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Broadband Resonance-Enhanced Frequency Generation by Four-Wave Mixing in a Silicon Floquet Topological Photonic Insulator

Floquet topological photonic insulators, whose light transport properties are dictated by the periodic drive sequence of the lattice, provide more flexibility for controlling and trapping light than undriven topological insulators, which can enable novel nonlinear optics applications in topological photonics. Here, we employ a novel resonance effect called Floquet Defect Mode Resonance in a 2D silicon Floquet microring lattice to demonstrate resonance-enhanced frequency generation by four-wave mixing of Floquet bulk modes in the presence of Kerr nonlinearity. The compact, cavity-less resonance mode, induced through a periodic perturbation of the lattice drive sequence, has the largest reported Q-factor for a topological resonator of ~10^5 with low group velocity dispersion, which enables efficient broadband frequency generation over several Floquet-Brillouin zones of the Floquet topological insulator. We achieved wavelength conversion over 10.1 nm spectral range with an average enhancement of 12.5 dB in the conversion efficiency due to the Floquet Defect Mode Resonance. Our work could lead to robust light sources generated directly on a topologically-protected photonic platform.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Realization of Anomalous Floquet Insulators in Strongly-Coupled Nanophotonic Lattices

We experimentally realized Floquet topological photonic insulators using a square lattice of direct-coupled octagonal resonators. Unlike previously reported topological insulator systems based on microring lattices, the nontrivial topological behaviors of our system arise directly from the periodic evolution of light around each octagon to emulate a periodically-driven system. By exploiting asynchronism in the evanescent coupling between adjacent octagonal resonators, we could achieve strong and asymmetric couplings in each unit cell, which are necessary for observing Anomalous Floquet Insulator behaviors. Direct imaging of scattered light from fabricated samples confirmed the existence of chiral edge states as predicted by the topological phase map of the lattice. In addition, by exploiting the frequency dispersion of the coupling coefficients, we could also observe topological phase changes of the lattice from normal insulator to Chern and Floquet insulators. Our lattice thus provides a versatile nanophotonic system for investigating 2D Floquet topological insulators.

physics.optics↗