Using aluminum nitride photonic-chip waveguides, we generate optical-frequency-comb supercontinuum spanning from 500 to 4000 nm with a 0.8-nJ seed pulse, and we show that the spectrum can be tailored by changing the waveguide geometry. Since aluminum nitride exhibits both quadratic and cubic nonlinearities, the spectra feature simultaneous contributions from numerous nonlinear mechanisms: supercontinuum generation, difference-frequency generation, second-harmonic generation, and third-harmonic generation. As one application of integrating multiple nonlinear processes, we measure and stabilize the carrier-envelope-offset frequency of a laser comb by direct photodetection of the output light. Additionally, we generate approximately 0.3 mW of broadband light in the 3000- and 4000-nm spectral region, which is potentially useful for molecular spectroscopy. The combination of broadband light generation from the visible through the midinfrared, combined with simplified self-referencing, provides a path towards robust comb systems for spectroscopy and metrology in the field.

Harnessing the unique properties of quantum mechanics offers the possibility of delivering alternative technologies that can fundamentally outperform their classical counterparts. These technologies deliver advantages only when components operate with performance beyond specific thresholds. For optical quantum metrology, the biggest challenge that impacts on performance thresholds is optical loss. Here, we demonstrate how including an optical delay and an optical switch in a feed-forward configuration with a stable and efficient correlated photon-pair source reduces the detector efficiency required to enable quantum-enhanced sensing down to the detection level of single photons and without postselection. When the switch is active, we observe a factor of improvement in precision of 1.27 for transmission measurement on a per-input-photon basis compared to the performance of a laser emitting an ideal coherent state and measured with the same detection efficiency as our setup. When the switch is inoperative, we observe no quantum advantage.

We report a fully integrated interface delivering efficient, reflection-free, single-mode, and self-aligned coupling between a step-index fiber and a gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The device offers a universal solution for interfacing solid and hollow cores and can be sealed to allow operation either evacuated or at high pressure. Stimulated Raman scattering and molecular modulation of light are demonstrated in a ${\mathrm{H}}_2$-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber using the device.

Efficient sources of individual pairs of entangled photons are required for quantum networks to operate using fiber-optic infrastructure. Entangled light can be generated by quantum dots (QDs) with naturally small fine-structure splitting (FSS) between exciton eigenstates. Moreover, QDs can be engineered to emit at standard telecom wavelengths. To achieve sufficient signal intensity for applications, QDs have been incorporated into one-dimensional optical microcavities. However, combining these properties in a single device has so far proved elusive. Here, we introduce a growth strategy to realize QDs with small FSS in the conventional telecom band, and within an optical cavity. Our approach employs ‘‘droplet-epitaxy’’ of InAs quantum dots on (001) substrates. We show the scheme improves the symmetry of the dots by 72%. Furthermore, our technique is universal, and produces low FSS QDs by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs emitting at $\sim 900\mathrm{nm}$, and metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy on InP emitting at $\sim 1550\mathrm{nm}$, with mean FSS $4\times$ smaller than for Stranski-Krastanow QDs.

We present a polarization, spectrally, and spatially resolved near-field photoluminescence (PL) measurement technique and apply it to the study of wide $m$-plane ${\mathrm{In}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}\mathrm{N}/\mathrm{GaN}$ quantum wells grown on on-axis and miscut GaN substrates. It is found that PL originates from localized states; nevertheless, its degree of linear polarization (DLP) is high with little spatial variation. This allows an unambiguous assignment of the localized states to ${\mathrm{In}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}\mathrm{N}$ composition-related band potential fluctuations. Spatial PL variations, occurring due to morphology features of the on-axis samples, play a secondary role compared to the variations of the alloy composition. The large PL peak wavelength difference for polarizations parallel and perpendicular to the $\mathbf{c}$ axis, the weak correlation between the peak PL wavelength and the DLP, and the temperature dependence of the DLP suggest that effective potential variations and the hole mass in the second valence-band level are considerably smaller than that for the first level. DLP maps for the long wavelength PL tails have revealed well-defined regions with a small DLP, which have been attributed to a partial strain relaxation around dislocations.

Optical gratings are created by flexoelectric domains in a bent-core nematic liquid crystal. A unique feature of this structure is that its wavelength can be controlled by the amplitude of the applied voltage, as demonstrated by polarizing microscopy and light diffraction techniques. In order to understand the reaction of the system to the voltage change, the dynamics of the switching process is studied via digital processing of recorded image sequences. It is shown that the characteristics and the switching mechanisms are different if the lower voltage level is below or above the threshold of pattern onset. In both cases, the response to increasing voltage levels is much slower than the response to decreasing voltage levels.

Degenerate band-edge (DBE) modes are known for their exceptionally high field intensity at the nearly flat dispersion-diagram profile. Because of the latter property, resonances supported by these modes are associated with a very strong field at the band edge. DBE modes and similar resonances of this class have been typically realized by introducing anisotropic dielectric slabs in volumetric photonic crystals. By contrast, in this paper, we present an analytic model of DBE modes using a simple set of nonidentical coupled transmission lines. The unequal phase velocities of the supported waves supported by these transmission lines lead to mode degeneracy, that in turn provide quartic solutions of dispersion ($\omega \text{−}\beta$) relations. The DBE mode appears as one these quartic solutions. As such, the proposed model generalizes the concept of DBE modes using the construct of nonidentical coupled transmission lines. In this paper, we also propose a propagation medium using a dual pair of nonidentical transmission lines. The medium is referred to as a “butterfly” structure and is composed of four coupled transmission lines. These four coupled transmission lines generate the ${\mathrm{TM}}_{01}$-like degenerate band-edge mode. This is done by coupling the TE modes supported on each pair of the transmission lines. Mode purity at the resonance frequency and the intense field profile on the axis are properties that can be exploited for high-power microwave sources.

Color centers in silicon carbide have increasingly attracted attention in recent years owing to their excellent properties such as single-photon emission, good photostability, and long spin-coherence time even at room temperature. As compared to diamond, which is widely used for hosting nitrogen-vacancy centers, silicon carbide has an advantage in terms of large-scale, high-quality, and low-cost growth, as well as an advanced fabrication technique in optoelectronics, leading to prospects for large-scale quantum engineering. In this paper, we report an experimental demonstration of the generation of a single-photon-emitter array through ion implantation. $V_{\mathrm{Si}}$ defects are generated in predetermined locations with high generation efficiency (approximately $19\%\pm 4\%$). The single emitter probability reaches approximately $34\%\pm 4\%$ when the ion-implantation dose is properly set. This method serves as a critical step in integrating single $V_{\mathrm{Si}}$ defect emitters with photonic structures, which, in turn, can improve the emission and collection efficiency of $V_{\mathrm{Si}}$ defects when they are used in a spin photonic quantum network. On the other hand, the defects are shallow, and they are generated about 40 nm below the surface which can serve as a critical resource in quantum-sensing applications.

We demonstrate a steplike optical modulation based on the activation and deactivation of a bistable localized structure using a photoinduced and reconfigurable miniaturized $30\times 30\mu \mathrm{m}$ electroactivated funnel waveguide. Control of a single $10\text{−}\mu \mathrm{m}$-diameter spot in a $200\text{−}\mu \mathrm{m}$-diameter vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser at 980 nm is achieved modulating the phase of an exciting beam in the specific position of the spot in the cavity. This localized on-off response can be scaled into arrays and offer a possible route to fast integrated optical logical functions and memory at low intensities at near-infrared wavelengths.

Entangling remote qubits is an essential technological element in the distributed quantum information processing. Here, we propose a deterministic scheme to generate maximal entanglement between remote superconducting atoms, using a propagating microwave photon as a flying qubit. The building block of this scheme is an atom-photon two-qubit gate, in which the photon qubit is encoded on its carrier frequencies. The gate operation completes deterministically upon reflection of a photon, and the gate type can be continuously varied (including swap, $\sqrt{\mathrm{SWAP}}$, and identity gates) through in situ control of the drive field. Applying such atom-photon gates sequentially, we can perform various gate operations between remote superconducting atoms.

The silicon-on-chip photonic circuit is a very promising platform for scalable quantum-information technology for its low loss, small footprint, and its compatibility with CMOS as well as telecom techniques. Multiplexed multiple entanglement sources, including energy-time, time-bin, and polarization-entangled sources based on 1-cm-length single silicon nanowire, are all compatible with the (100-GHz) dense-wave-division-multiplexing system. Different methods, such as two-photon interference as well as Bell-inequality and quantum-state tomography, are used to characterize the quality of these entangled sources. Multiple entanglements are generated over more than five channel pairs with high raw (net) visibilities of around 97% (100%). The emission spectral brightness of these entangled sources reaches $4.2\times {10}^5/(\mathrm{s}\mathrm{nm}\mathrm{mW})$. The quality of the photon pair generated in the continuous and pulse-pump regimes are compared. The high quality of these multiple entanglement sources makes them very promising for use in minimized quantum-communication and computation systems.

We propose and theoretically study a parity-time ($\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$)-symmetric photonic-crystal coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) based on buried heterostructure nanocavities which has potential scalability and controllability. We analytically reveal its spectral transport properties with a tight-binding model and show the possibility of the wide-range control of its group velocity using the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ phase transition. While the group velocity at the $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ phase-transition point diverges, the group-velocity dispersion converges. A numerical estimation of the system response to temporal pulse inputs shows that the pulse broadening is not severe in a device of hundreds of micrometers in size. Furthermore, a longer pulse duration results in a higher upper limit of the pulse peak velocity, which can be, in principle, superluminal. We next perform numerical simulations on the considered photonic-crystal slab structures with the finite-element method, and we successfully observe $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ phase transitions. In the simulated parameter range, gain and loss coefficients of the order of $100{\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$ meet the condition for the maximum group-velocity coefficient in the context of the tight-binding approach. A 9.3-fold increase in the group velocity at 1502 nm is obtained in a three-dimensional device by switching between the conventional and $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric CROWs. Meanwhile, we also encounter band smoothing around the phase transition, which hampers the group-velocity divergence. Our simulation result indicates that it arises from interfering evanescent waves decaying out of the device structure, and we discuss ways to suppress this effect.

Carbon nanotube quantum dots allow accurate control of electron charge, spin, and valley degrees of freedom in a material which is atomically perfect and can be grown isotopically pure. These properties underlie the unique potential of carbon nanotubes for quantum information processing, but developing nanotube charge, spin, or spin-valley qubits requires efficient readout techniques as well as understanding and extending quantum coherence in these devices. Here, we report on microwave spectroscopy of a carbon nanotube charge qubit in which quantum information is encoded in the spatial position of an electron. We combine radio-frequency reflectometry measurements of the quantum capacitance of the device with microwave manipulation to drive transitions between the qubit states. This approach simplifies charge-state readout and allows us to operate the device at an optimal point where the qubit is first-order insensitive to charge noise. From these measurements, we are able to quantify the degree of charge noise experienced by the qubit and obtain an inhomogeneous charge coherence of 5 ns. We use a chopped microwave signal whose duty-cycle period is varied to measure the decay of the qubit states, yielding a charge relaxation time of 48 ns.

Reservoir computing is a bioinspired computing paradigm for processing time-dependent signals. Its hardware implementations have received much attention because of their simplicity and remarkable performance on a series of benchmark tasks. In previous experiments, the output was uncoupled from the system and, in most cases, simply computed off-line on a postprocessing computer. However, numerical investigations have shown that feeding the output back into the reservoir opens the possibility of long-horizon time-series forecasting. Here, we present a photonic reservoir computer with output feedback, and we demonstrate its capacity to generate periodic time series and to emulate chaotic systems. We study in detail the effect of experimental noise on system performance. In the case of chaotic systems, we introduce several metrics, based on standard signal-processing techniques, to evaluate the quality of the emulation. Our work significantly enlarges the range of tasks that can be solved by hardware reservoir computers and, therefore, the range of applications they could potentially tackle. It also raises interesting questions in nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory.

Chiroptical effects characterized by different optical responses for left- (LCP) and right-handed circularly polarized light (RCP) are powerful and valuable tools in optics with wide applications in polarization-resolved imaging and sensing. Previously observed strong chiroptical effects are limited to metamaterials with complex three-dimensional chiral structures at the subwavelength scale. Although asymmetrical transmission of LCP and RCP have been investigated in planar chiral metasurfaces, the observed weak chiroptical effects result from anisotropic Ohmic dissipation of the metal constituents. Here, we demonstrate by theory and proof-of-concept experiments that a large difference in transmittances of LCP and RCP can be attained in a single-layer planar chiral metamaterial with a subwavelength thickness. Without violating the reciprocity and mirror symmetry, the strong chiroptical effect, independent of dielectric loss, arises from a mechanism of multimode interference. The described effect may lead to a gateway towards chiral manipulations of light and chiral optical devices.

The efficiency of terahertz emission by the photo-Dember effect from bare InAs, GaAs, and InSb samples as a function of the excitation-light wavelength is investigated to demonstrate that an electron-hole kinetic-energy equilibrium is rapidly reached, before the radiation peak. Numerical and experimental results show clear features that match the onset of electron scattering from the $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ valley to the $L$ and $X$ valleys. An ambipolar-based simulation model is developed to describe the above characteristics and to explain the experimental pump-fluence dependence of radiation emission from InAs. Results illustrate the potential of terahertz excitation spectroscopy to probe the electron density of states deep in the bands of semiconductor materials and obtain a depth profile of the dynamic forces acting on carriers at a subpicosecond time scale. Moreover, the potential of the further development of numerical models intrinsically including electron-hole attraction to describe photoinduced hot-carrier dynamics is explained.

Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) metasurfaces exhibit strong abilities to control spin-polarized light, but transmission-mode PB functional devices exhibiting simultaneously nearly 100% efficiencies and ultrathin thicknesses are rarely seen. Here, we show that 100%-efficiency photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) can be realized in ultrathin PB metasurfaces exhibiting both electric and magnetic responses satisfying certain criteria, and then we design and fabricate a microwave transmissive PB metasurface with thickness of approximately $\lambda /8$ yet exhibiting a maximum PSHE efficiency of approximately 91% in experiments (approximately 94% in full-wave simulations). Our results can stimulate the realizations of high-performance PB metadevices with diversified functionalities at different frequencies. As an example, we fabricate several vortex-beam generators and demonstrate that they not only exhibit ultrahigh working efficiencies but also are immune from normal-mode background interferences.

We provide further theoretical insights and experimental verification of the modal-dispersion-induced effective surface-plasmon polaritons (ESPPs) by engineering the transverse-electric (TE) modes in conventional rectangular waveguides. The complete field distributions, dispersion relations, and asymptotic frequency of the ESPPs are derived analytically. Wave-port excitations and smooth bridges are designed for the mode conversion between propagating modes in rectangular waveguides and the ESPPs. Analytical calculations and numerical simulations are performed for ${\mathrm{TE}}_{10}$- and ${\mathrm{TE}}_{20}$-mode-induced ESPPs, showing excellent agreement. Moreover, we design a double-layered substrate-integrated waveguide showing that ESPPs are supported at the interface between the two layers with different dielectric constants. This work opens up an avenue for low-frequency designer surface plasmons and may find potential applications in the design of compact filters, resonators, and sensors of ESPPs in the microwave and terahertz frequencies.

Selective filtering of spectral and angular optical transmission has recently attracted a great deal of interest. While optical passband and stop-band spectral filters are already widely used, angle-selective transmission and reflection filtering represents a less than fully explored alternative. Nonetheless, this approach can be promising for several applications, including stray radiation minimization and background emission exclusion. In this work, a concept for angle-selective reflection filtering using guided-mode resonance coupling is proposed. Although guided-mode resonance structures are already used for spectral filtering, in this work, a variation of angle-selective reflection filtering using guided-mode resonance coupling is proposed. We investigate angle-dependent properties of such structures for potential use as angle-selective reflective filters. We utilize interference between diffraction modes to provide tunable selectivity with a sufficient angular width. Combining these structures with thermal emitters can exclude selected emission angles for spatially selective thermal emissivity reduction toward sensitive targets, as well as directionally selective emissivity exclusion for suppression of solar heating. We show a very large selective reduction of heat exchange by 99.77% between an engineered emitter and a distant receiver using just a single-groove grating and an emitting substrate in the emitter’s side. Also, we show a selective reduction of heat exchange by approximately 77% between an emitter covered by engineered sets of angle-selective reflective filters and a nearby sensitive target. The suggested angle-selective structure may have applications in excluding background thermal radiation, in particular, thermal emission reduction for daytime radiative cooling, sensitive IR telescope detectors, and high-fidelity thermoluminescent spectroscopy.

In the last decade, there has been remarkable progress on the practical integration of on-chip quantum photonic devices, yet quantum-state generators remain an outstanding challenge. Simultaneously, the quantum-dot photonic-crystal-resonator platform has demonstrated a versatility for creating nonclassical light with tunable quantum statistics thanks to a newly discovered self-homodyning interferometric effect that preferentially selects the quantum light over the classical light when using an optimally tuned Fano resonance. In this work, we propose a general structure for the cavity quantum electrodynamical generation of quantum states from a waveguide-integrated version of the quantum-dot photonic-crystal-resonator platform, which is specifically tailored for preferential quantum-state transmission. We support our results with rigorous finite-difference time-domain and quantum-optical simulations and show how our proposed device can serve as a robust generator of highly pure single- and even multiphoton states.