Xuchao Chen | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Observation of Electrically Tunable Chirality Inversion in a Slow-Light Waveguide

We identify chiral inversion points in slow-light, glide-plane-symmetric, photonic-crystal waveguides, defined as fixed locations where the local optical chirality changes sign over a narrow wavelength range. We experimentally access this behaviour using a waveguide-embedded InAs/InGaAs quantum dot. The slow-light spectral region is determined from time-integrated and time-resolved photoluminescence, and the dot exciton is electrically tuned across the slow-light bandwidth via the quantum-confined Stark effect. As the emission wavelength is swept through the slow-light region, the directional emission contrast shows a strong wavelength dependence and a sign reversal, consistent with the identified chiral inversion point. Numerical simulations attribute the switching primarily to the pronounced spectral variation of the local optical chirality for emitters displaced from the waveguide center. These results demonstrate on-demand electrical switching of chiral light-matter coupling in nanophotonic waveguides and enable tunable chiral interfaces for integrated quantum photonic devices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Waveguide Excitation and Spin Pumping of Chirally Coupled Quantum Dots

We report on an integrated semiconductor chip where a single quantum dot (QD) is excited in-plane via a photonic-crystal waveguide through its nearest p-shell optical transition. The chirality of the waveguide mode is exploited to achieve both directional absorption and directional emission, resulting in a substantial enhancement in directional contrast, as measured for the Zeeman components of the waveguide-coupled QD. This remote excitation scheme enables high directionality (greater than or equal to 0.95) across approximately 56% of the waveguide area, with significant overlap with the Purcell-enhanced region, where the electric field intensity profile is near its peak. In contrast, local excitation methods using an out-of-plane excitation beam focused directly over the area of the QD achieve only approximately 25% overlap. This enhancement increases the likelihood of locating Purcell-enhanced QDs in regions that support high directionality, enabling the experimental demonstration of a six-fold enhancement in the decay rate of a QD with greater than 90% directionality. The remote p-shell excitation protocol establishes a new benchmark for waveguide quantum optics in terms of the combination of Purcell enhancement and high directionality, thereby paving the way for on-chip excitation of spin-based solid-state quantum technologies in regimes of high beta-factor.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗