Abstract
We show that when the refractive index of a photonic system is harmonically modulated, the phase of the modulation introduces an effective gauge potential for photons. This effective gauge potential can be used to create a photonic Aharonov-Bohm effect. We show that the photonic Aharonov-Bohm effect provides the optimal mechanism for achieving complete on-chip nonmagnetic optical isolation.
- Received 19 October 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.153901
© 2012 American Physical Society
Synopsis
A New Phase for Photonics
Published 12 April 2012
A waveguide’s dielectric properties could result in an effective gauge field for photons even though they have no charge.
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