Temporally varying electromagnetic materials have recently attracted substantial attention as a platform for building tunable devices, being directly controlled by the developed waves. Such a concept can be expanded to metasurfaces, where the time modulation involves only the imposed boundary conditions without requiring the solving of a wave equation with time-dependent coefficients. In this framework, a generic class of two coupled sheets with temporally modulated surface conductivities is investigated under unilateral excitation. Various reflected and transmitted waves at different Floquet frequencies are determined by rigorously formulating the temporal dynamics and are found to give multiharmonic resonances. This spectral redistribution of power is adjustable via the time change of metasurface admittances, and thus can be used in a broad range of applications from secure transmission to dispersionless propagation.

Quantum-cascade-laser (QCL) frequency combs are compact semiconductor light sources operating in the mid-IR and terahertz frequencies. Achieving subpicosecond laser pulses with high peak power is of vital importance for performing nonlinear time-resolved spectroscopy as well for exploring nonlinear phenomena. Therefore, investigation and characterization of time-resolved free-running laser emission is a key for further improvement and optimization of these intersubband devices. In this work, we demonstrate a direct electric field measurement of a free-running terahertz QCL frequency comb using electro-optic sampling in combination with computational phase correction, where we retrieve the electric field profile and access the comb parameters. The demonstrated method is of high interest for time-resolved low-power laser emission characterization, typical for ring terahertz QCL frequency combs and investigation of phase-compensated emission via waveguide dispersion engineering for broadband comb operation.

The characterization of externally applied signals is essential in order to improve performance and design appropriate engineering strategies in cold-atom experiments. Here, we present a practical technique to detect the artificially introduced electric signals by an exquisite sensor made of a single ${}^{40}$$\mathrm{Ca}$${}^{+}$ ion behaving as the phonon laser. The sensor can work as an oscilloscope, detecting spectra of the signals in the time domain, and also as a frequency spectrograph for the signal probe with respect to the frequency. The high precision of such an atomic sensor relies on the unique characteristics of the phonon laser. In particular, the sensor is practical since it works without the prerequisite of sideband cooling and the performance of the sensor can be further improved depending on better trapping conditions and a higher collection efficiency of the spontaneous emission fluorescence.

Efficient optical interfacing of spin-bearing quantum emitters is a crucial ingredient for quantum networks. A promising route therefore is to incorporate host materials as minimally processed membranes into open-access microcavities: it enables significant emission enhancement and efficient photon collection, minimizes deteriorating influence on the quantum emitter, and allows for full spatial and spectral tunability. Here, we study the properties of a high-finesse fiber Fabry-Pérot microcavity with integrated single-crystal diamond membranes by scanning cavity microscopy. We observe the spatially resolved effects of the diamond-air interface on the cavity-mode structure: a strong correlation of the cavity finesse and mode structure with the diamond thickness and surface topography, prevalent transverse-mode mixing under diamondlike conditions, and mode-character-dependent polarization-mode splitting. Our results reveal the influence of the diamond surface on the achievable Purcell enhancement, which helps to clarify the route towards optimized spin-photon interfaces.

Alternative types of artificial cooling techniques are of large interest for multiple applications. Here, we develop a framework for studying the role of electro-optical coupling in the analysis of solid-state refrigerators based on electroluminescent cooling (ELC) by combining device measurements with optical simulations. The studied device consists of a light-emitting diode (LED) epitaxially connected to a photodetector (PD) in a double-diode structure (DDS). Previous results of the DDS have indicated that the LED side already operates at conditions corresponding to ELC, but Ohmic losses and imperfect photodetection of the LED light in the PD have prevented observing the effect directly. Here, to break down the detection losses of the DDS, we report on the electro-optical response of the LED and the PD in detail, as well as the role of the spectral coupling from the LED to the PD. We present a detailed framework for combining measurements and simulations of the DDS to gain quantitative insight of the electro-optical response of the LED and PD, as well as the coupling between them, including the analysis of effects that are not directly accessible by standard measurements. The developed approach allows identifying the different photodetection loss mechanisms from the current-voltage and electroluminescence measurements and thereby gives guidance for designs toward a direct demonstration of ELC at practically relevant cooling powers. Somewhat surprisingly, the results show that an imperfect spectral absorption efficiency of the PD, in addition to its below unity quantum efficiency, are together required to explain the previously observed low photodetection efficiency of the DDS even for several microns thick PD structures. In comparison, the LED top mirror introduces only a minuscule drop in photodetection efficiency. Put in plain numbers, our analysis reveals that in the current DDS designs, there is headroom by 14% in the spectral matching between the LED and the PD, 5% in the charge collection efficiency of the PD, and 4% in the efficiency at which photons emitted from the LED reach the PD.

Dynamically encircling exceptional points (EPs) in the parameter space of a non-Hermitian system has drawn widespread attention for realizing asymmetric mode switching and related applications. While previous works have been restricted to two-level systems, the switching between edge states in a multistate system that contains more complex dynamics remains to be explored. Herein, asymmetric switching of edge modes in multistate systems is demonstrated by encircling multiple EPs. A multistate non-Hermitian system containing multiple EPs is constructed based on a one-dimensional lattice, which can support four edge-localized modes. Dynamically encircling the EPs in parameter space leads to a specific edge mode surviving to the end, determined by the encircling direction. Correspondingly, optical waveguide arrays are designed to investigate mode evolution through refractive index modulation. Simulated results show that clockwise (counterclockwise) encirclement leads to an output mode localized at the left (right) side of the waveguide array with a phase difference of 0 (π), regardless of the input modes; this excellently illustrates the asymmetric switching of edge modes in a multistate system. Moreover, such an effect can be extended to the multistate system with an arbitrary number of EPs. This work enables investigation of interesting effects in non-Hermitian physics by engineering the EPs and topological properties, especially for complex multistate systems, which will be useful for developing functional nanophotonic devices.

Imaging in a broad light-intensity regime with a high signal-to-noise ratio is a key capability in fields as diverse as quantum metrology and astronomy. Achieving high signal-to-noise ratios in quantum imaging leads to surpassing the classical limit in parameter estimation. In astronomical detection, the search for habitable exoplanets demands imaging of atmospheres in the infrared to look for biosignatures. These optical applications are hampered by detection noise, which critically limits their potential, and thus demands photon-number and spatial-resolution detectors. Here we report an imaging device in the infrared wavelength range able to arbitrarily reduce the readout noise. We built a measured exposure skipper-CCD sensor instrument equipped with a thick back-illuminated sensor, with photon-number-resolving capability in a wide dynamic range, spatial resolution, high quantum efficiency in the near-infrared and ultralow dark counts. This device allows us to image objects in a broad range of intensities within the same frame and, by reducing the readout noise to less than 0.2e${}^{-}$, to distinguish even those shapes with less than two photons per pixel, unveiling what was previously hidden in the noise. These results pave the way for building high-standard infrared imagers based on skipper CCDs.

Vertical plasmonic coupling in double-layer graphene leads to two hybridized plasmonic modes: the optical and the acoustic plasmon with symmetric and antisymmetric charge distributions across the interlayer gap, respectively. However, in most experiments based on far-field excitation, only the optical plasmon are dominantly excited in the double-layer graphene systems. Here, we propose strategies to selectively and efficiently excite the acoustic plasmon with single or multiple nanoemitters. The analytical model developed here elucidates the role of the position and arrangement of the emitters on the symmetry of the resulting graphene plasmons. In addition, we present an optimal device structure to enable an experimental observation of the acoustic plasmon in double-layer graphene toward the ultimate level of plasmonic confinement defined by a monoatomic spacer, which is inaccessible with a graphene-on-a-mirror architecture.

Realizing a quantum network will require long-lived quantum memories with optical interfaces incorporated into a scalable architecture. Color-center quantum emitters in diamond have emerged as a promising memory modality due to their optical properties and compatibility with scalable integration. However, developing a scalable color-center emitter module requires significant advances in the areas of heterogeneous integration and cryogenically compatible packaging. Here we report on a cryogenically stable and network compatible quantum emitter module for memory use. This quantum emitter module is a significant development towards advanced quantum networking applications such as distributed sensing and processing.

We assess the continuous-wave and dynamic performance of a photonic laser cavity consisting of a silicon-rich-nitride-on-insulator disk resonator overlaid with a transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) bilayer heterostructure (${\mathrm{WSe}}_2/{\mathrm{Mo}\mathrm{S}}_2$) acting as the gain medium. The optically pumped TMD heterostructure fosters an interlayer exciton with long radiative recombination lifetime, providing light emission in the near-infrared ($\sim 1130$ nm). Following a meticulous design process, we propose a silicon-on-insulator-compatible, monolithically integrated optical source capable of emitting milliwatt power inside an integrated waveguide, featuring a low pump-power threshold of $\sim 16{\mathrm{kW}/\mathrm{cm}}^2$, and exhibiting an estimated total quantum efficiency of approximately 1.7%. The proposed laser cavity is analyzed and designed using a rigorous theoretical framework based on perturbation theory and temporal coupled-mode theory, capable of treating nanophotonic cavities of any geometry and material composition comprising both bulk and/or sheet gain media. The framework is built upon fundamental electromagnetic and semiclassical gain equations, rendering it general and adaptable to different cavity configurations and gain-media descriptions. It constitutes a powerful tool for the efficient analysis of contemporary micro- and nanophotonic semiconductor lasers, since it is capable of predicting fundamental laser characteristics, providing design directives, deriving continuous-wave design metrics, and evaluating the dynamic response of realistic laser cavities.

Quantum optical microcombs in integrated ring resonators generate entangled photon pairs over many spectral modes, and allow the preparation of high-dimensional qudit states. Ideally, those sources should be programmable and have a high generation rate, with comb lines tightly spaced for the implementation of efficient qudit gates based on electro-optic frequency mixing. While these requirements cannot all be satisfied by a single resonator device, for which there is a trade-off between the high generation rate and tight bin spacing, a promising strategy is the use of multiple resonators, each generating photon pairs in specific frequency bins via spontaneous four-wave mixing. Based on this approach we present a programmable silicon photonics device for the generation of frequency-bin-entangled qudits, in which bin spacing, qudit dimension, and the bipartite quantum state can be reconfigured on chip. Using resonators with a radius of $22\text{μ}\mathrm{m}$, we achieve a high brightness [about $\mathrm{MHz}/(\mathrm{mW}{)}^2$] per comb line with a bin spacing of 15 GHz, and fidelities above 85% with maximally entangled Bell states up to a Hilbert space dimension of 16. By individually addressing each spectral mode, we realize states that cannot be generated on chip using a single resonator. We measure the correlation matrices of maximally entangled two-qubit and two-qutrit states on a set of mutually unbiased bases, finding fidelities exceeding 98%, and indicating that the source can find application in high-dimensional secure communication protocols.

Preshared entanglement can significantly boost communication rates in the high thermal-noise and low-brightness transmitter regime. In this regime, for a lossy bosonic channel with additive thermal noise, the ratio between the entanglement-assisted capacity and the Holevo capacity—the maximum reliable communication rate permitted by quantum mechanics without any preshared entanglement—scales as $\log (1/{\overline{N}}_S)$, where the mean transmitted photon number per mode, ${\overline{N}}_S\ll 1$. Thus, preshared entanglement, e.g., distributed by the quantum internet or a satellite-assisted quantum link, promises to significantly improve low-power radio-frequency communications. In this paper, we propose a pair of structured quantum transceiver designs that leverage continuous-variable preshared entanglement (generated, e.g., from a down-conversion source), binary phase modulation, and non-Gaussian joint detection over a codeword block, to achieve this scaling law of capacity enhancement. Furthermore, we describe a modification to the aforesaid receiver using a frontend that uses sum-frequency generation sandwiched with dynamically programmable in-line two-mode squeezers, and a receiver backend that takes full advantage of the output of the receiver’s frontend by employing a nondestructive multimode vacuum-or-not measurement to achieve the entanglement-assisted classical communication capacity.

On-chip mode division (de)multiplexing plays a significant role in integrated devices to greatly improve communication capacity. One of the goals of mode division (de)multiplexing is to realize devices with larger bandwidth and better fabrication tolerance. However, integrated broadband mode division (de)multiplexing devices have rarely been reported up to now. In this work, we experimentally realize a broadband mode division demultiplexing device with a high degree of fabrication tolerance based on a lithium niobate-on-insulator waveguide array. By taking advantage of the fact that different modes in the waveguide array have different group velocities, we experimentally confirm that different modes in the waveguide array have different transverse displacements. The implementation of the integrated broadband mode division demultiplexer may have future applications in information processing technology, quantum communication, and quantum computing.

Balanced homodyne interferometry is a well-known detection technique that allows for sensitive characterization of light fields. Conventionally a homodyne interferometer is operated by locking the relative phase of a reference beam to the signal beam by means of an active feedback loop. A less often used method is to perform a slow continuous modulation of the reference beam arm length that corresponds to averaging all relative phases during the measurement. Here we show theoretically and experimentally that this quadrature averaging can be advantageous in estimating the parameters of a resonant optical cavity. We demonstrate that the averaging turns the transduction function, from cavity frequency fluctuations into the interferometer signal, into a simple function of the laser detuning that, notably, does not depend on the parameters of possible nonresonant channels present in the system. The method needs no active feedback and gives results that are easy to interpret. Moreover, the phase-averaged measurement allows characterization of the absolute magnitude of a cavity frequency modulation.

Active manipulation of the terahertz (THz) beam, especially beam deflection, is urgently required for wide THz applications. Although Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) metasurfaces can flexibly control the spatial phase distribution of circularly polarized waves, active power distribution and modulation between two conjugate spin beams are still challenging. Here, we demonstrate an all-dielectric metadevice consisting of an anisotropic metasurface layer and a PB metasurface layer etched on both sides of a silicon wafer. This structure develops a photonic spin-decoupling mechanism for spin-beam manipulation, which actively controls the power distribution between the two deflected spin beams by rotating the incident linearly polarized direction. The power-distribution ratio reaches 14.9:1 in the experiment. Moreover, the deflected beam can also be modulated by active switching via a laser pump, achieving an intensity-modulation depth of over 90%. The experimental modulation depth of the metadevice is 52% higher than that of the bare silicon wafer at the same pump power, which originates from the THz localized field enhancement and the strong dispersion effect of the PB structures. Therefore, this work provides a scheme for actively manipulating THz-beam deflection, realizing controllable wave-division multiplexing, power distribution, polarization control, and modulation.

Artificial magnetism can be realized with metamaterials in high frequencies, which are important for many applications. However, such metamaterials need to be constructed with metal or high-relative-permittivity dielectric and thus may exhibit absorption loss. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate a pair of magnetic metamaterials that have inversion symmetry and are generated from a parent photonic crystal with low-relative-permittivity dielectric (${\epsilon }_r<4$). Interestingly, one metamaterial is paramagnetic, the other is diamagnetic, and the product of their effective relative permeabilities is close to 1 (${\mu }_{e1}>1$, ${\mu }_{e2}<1$, ${\mu }_{e1}{\mu }_{e2}\approx 1$) in a broad frequency range. As a result, fascinating effects, such as wide-angle and wide-frequency near-perfect transmission and interface states, are observed in the systems.

Polarization-preserving fibers maintain the two polarization states of an orthogonal basis. Quantum communication, however, requires sending at least two nonorthogonal states and these cannot both be preserved. We present an alternative scheme that allows for using polarization encoding in a fiber not only in the discrete, but also in the continuous-variable regime. For the example of a helically twisted photonic crystal fiber, we experimentally demonstrate that using appropriate nonorthogonal modes, the polarization-preserving fiber does not fully scramble these modes over the full Poincaré sphere, but that the output polarization will stay on a great circle; that is, within a one-dimensional protected subspace, which can be parametrized by a single variable. This allows for more efficient measurements of quantum excitations in nonorthogonal modes.

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) is a reliable platform for entanglement generation. Routinely, a coherent laser beam is an essential prerequisite for pumping the nonlinear crystal. Here we break this barrier to generate polarization-entangled photon pairs by using a commercial light-emitting diode (LED) source to serve as the pump beam. This effect is counterintuitive, as the LED source is of extremely low spatial coherence, which is transferred during the down-conversion process to the biphoton wave function. However, the type-II phase matching condition naturally filters the specific frequency and wavelength of LED light exclusively to participate in SPDC such that localized polarization Bell states can be generated, regardless of the global incoherence over the full transverse plane. In our experiment, we characterize the degree of LED light-induced polarization entanglement in the standard framework of the violation of Bell's inequality. We achieve the Bell value $S=2.33\pm 0.097$, obviously surpassing the classical bound $S=2$ and thus witnessing the quantum entanglement. Our work can be extended to prepare polarization entanglement by using other natural light sources, such as sunlight and biolight, which holds promise for electricity-free quantum communications in outer space.

The interaction between microwave photons and magnons is well understood and originates from the Zeeman coupling between spins and a magnetic field. Interestingly, the magnon-photon interaction is accompanied by a phase factor, which can usually be neglected. However, under the rotating wave approximation, if two magnon modes simultaneously couple with two cavity resonances, this phase cannot be ignored as it changes the physics of the system. We consider two such systems, each differing by the sign of one of the magnon-photon coupling strengths. This simple difference, originating from the various coupling phases in the system, is shown to preserve, or destroy, two potential applications of hybrid photon-magnon systems, namely dark-mode memories and cavity-mediated coupling. The observable consequences of the coupling phase in this system is akin to the manifestation of a discrete Pancharatnam-Berry phase, which may be useful for quantum information processing and the creation of nonreciprocal devices using proper cavity engineering.

The interaction between light and an atom causes perturbations in the atom’s energy levels, known as the light shift. These light shifts are a key source of inaccuracy in atomic clocks, and can also deteriorate their precision. We present a study of light shifts and associated dynamic polarizabilities for a two-photon atomic clock based on the $5S_{1/2}$–$5D_{5/2}$ transition in rubidium-87 over the range 770–800 nm. We determine experimental and theoretical values for a magic wavelength in this range and the electric dipole (E1) matrix element for the $5P_{3/2}$–$5D_{5/2}$ transition. We find a magic wavelength of 776.179(5) nm (experimental) and 776.21 nm (theoretical) in the vicinity of the $5P_{3/2}$–$5D_{5/2}$ resonance, and the corresponding reduced E1 matrix element $1.80(6)e{a}_0$ (experimental) and $1.96(15)e{a}_0$ (theoretical). These values resolve a previous discrepancy between theory and experiment.