• Advanced Photonics
  • Vol. 1, Issue 4, 046002 (2019)
Da Xu1, Zi-Zhao Han1, Yu-Kun Lu1, Qihuang Gong1、2、3、4, Cheng-Wei Qiu5, Gang Chen3、6、**, and Yun-Feng Xiao1、2、3、4、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Peking University, State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructures and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Beijing, China
  • 2Nano-optoelectronics Frontier Center of the Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China
  • 3Shanxi University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Taiyuan, China
  • 4Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 5National University of Singapore, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Singapore, Singapore
  • 6Shanxi University, Institute of Laser Spectroscopy, State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, Taiyuan, China
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    DOI: 10.1117/1.AP.1.4.046002 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Da Xu, Zi-Zhao Han, Yu-Kun Lu, Qihuang Gong, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Gang Chen, Yun-Feng Xiao. Synchronization and temporal nonreciprocity of optical microresonators via spontaneous symmetry breaking[J]. Advanced Photonics, 2019, 1(4): 046002 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Synchronization is of importance in both fundamental and applied physics, but its demonstration at the micro/nanoscale is mainly limited to low-frequency oscillations such as mechanical resonators. We report the synchronization of two coupled optical microresonators, in which the high-frequency resonances in the optical domain are aligned with reduced noise. It is found that two types of synchronization regimes emerge with either the first- or second-order transition, both presenting a process of spontaneous symmetry breaking. In the second-order regime, the synchronization happens with an invariant topological character number and a larger detuning than that of the first-order case. Furthermore, an unconventional hysteresis behavior is revealed for a time-dependent coupling strength, breaking the static limitation and the temporal reciprocity. The synchronization of optical microresonators offers great potential in reconfigurable simulations of many-body physics and scalable photonic devices on a chip.
    Supplementary Materials
    Da Xu, Zi-Zhao Han, Yu-Kun Lu, Qihuang Gong, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Gang Chen, Yun-Feng Xiao. Synchronization and temporal nonreciprocity of optical microresonators via spontaneous symmetry breaking[J]. Advanced Photonics, 2019, 1(4): 046002
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