A low-loss and broadband all-fiber acousto-optic circulator

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Blaha, Martin, Rauschenbeutel, Arno, Pennetta, Riccardo
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Blaha, Martin
Rauschenbeutel, Arno
Pennetta, Riccardo
author_facet Blaha, Martin
Rauschenbeutel, Arno
Pennetta, Riccardo
contents The introduction of low-loss optical fibers probably represents the single most important advance in the growth of our telecommunication system. To meet our needs for secure communications, it is likely that our classical network will soon be operating alongside what is known as a quantum network. The latter is very sensitive to loss and thus poses new constraints to the performance of current fiber components. In particular, recent quantum network prototypes underlined the absence of low-loss non-reciprocal fiber-based devices. Here, we present a solution to this issue by realizing low-loss (0.81 dB), broadband (at least 50 GHz bandwidth) and high-extinction (up to 27 dB) circulators, based on Mach-Zehnder interferometers including so-called fiber null-couplers. The latter are directional couplers, whose splitting-ratio can be controlled by launching acoustic waves along the coupling region. Fabricated from standard single-mode fibers and actuated electrically, these circulators can be made to fit any existing optical fiber networks and could turn out to be key for the transmission and processing of optically encoded quantum information.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_12903
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A low-loss and broadband all-fiber acousto-optic circulator
Blaha, Martin
Rauschenbeutel, Arno
Pennetta, Riccardo
Optics
The introduction of low-loss optical fibers probably represents the single most important advance in the growth of our telecommunication system. To meet our needs for secure communications, it is likely that our classical network will soon be operating alongside what is known as a quantum network. The latter is very sensitive to loss and thus poses new constraints to the performance of current fiber components. In particular, recent quantum network prototypes underlined the absence of low-loss non-reciprocal fiber-based devices. Here, we present a solution to this issue by realizing low-loss (0.81 dB), broadband (at least 50 GHz bandwidth) and high-extinction (up to 27 dB) circulators, based on Mach-Zehnder interferometers including so-called fiber null-couplers. The latter are directional couplers, whose splitting-ratio can be controlled by launching acoustic waves along the coupling region. Fabricated from standard single-mode fibers and actuated electrically, these circulators can be made to fit any existing optical fiber networks and could turn out to be key for the transmission and processing of optically encoded quantum information.
title A low-loss and broadband all-fiber acousto-optic circulator
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.12903