Emulating exceptional-point encirclements using imperfect (leaky) photonic components: Asymmetric mode-switching and omni-polarizer action

J. B. Khurgin, Y. Sebbag, E. Edrei, R. Zektzer, K. Shastri, U. Levy, F. Monticone*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Non-Hermitian systems have recently attracted significant attention in photonics. One of the hallmarks of these systems is the possibility of realizing asymmetric mode-switching and omni-polarizer action through the dynamic encirclement of exceptional points (EPs). Here, we offer a new perspective on the operating principle of these devices, and we theoretically and experimentally show that linear asymmetric mode-switching and omni-polarizer action can be easily realized-with the same performance and limitations-using simple configurations that emulate the physics involved in encircling EPs without the complexity of actual encirclement schemes. The proposed concept of “encirclement emulators” and our theoretical and experimental results may allow better assessment of the limitations, practical potential, and applications of EP encirclements in non-Hermitian photonics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)563-569
Number of pages7
JournalOptica
Volume8
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 20 Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

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