Nonlinear anti-directional couplers with gain and loss

Abstract

Following the concept of $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric couplers, we propose a linearly coupled system of nonlinear waveguides, made of positive- and negative-index materials, which carry, respectively, gain and loss. We report novel bi- and multi-stability states pertaining to transmitted and reflective intensities, which are controlled by the ratio of the gain and loss coefficients, and phase mismatch between the waveguides. These states offer transmission regimes with extremely low threshold intensities for transitions between coexisting states, and very large amplification ratio between the input and output intensities leading to an efficient way of controlling light with light.

To be published in Optics Letters

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Enhanced stability, bistability, and exceptional points in saturable active photonic couplers
• Multifaceted dynamics and gap solitons in $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric periodic structures
• Tailoring inhomogeneous $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric fiber Bragg grating spectra
• Nonlinear nonuniform $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric Bragg grating structures
• Low-power optical bistability in $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric chirped Bragg gratings with four-wave mixing
• Phase shifted $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-symmetric periodic structures
• Loss compensation symmetry of unequally sized dielectric cylinders with gain and loss
• Tunable nonlinear spectra of anti-directional couplers
• Unique multistable states in periodic structures with saturable nonlinearity