Chiral‐Gain Photonics
Lannebère, S.
;
Fernandes, D. E.
;
Morgado, T. A.
;
Silveirinha, M. G.
Laser & Photonics Reviews Vol. n/a, Nº n/a, pp. 202400881 - , January, 2025.
ISSN (print): 1863-8880
ISSN (online): 1863-8899
Scimago Journal Ranking: 3,07 (in 2023)
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1002/lpor.202400881
Abstract
This work presents an exploratory study of the potential applications of electrically biased materials that possess a nonreciprocal and non-Hermitian electromagnetic response analogous to the electronic response of field-effect transistors. The most distinctive feature of such materials is their chiral-gain, meaning that their response can be active or dissipative depending on the handedness of the wave polarization. It is shown how the chiral-gain can be harnessed to develop novel electromagnetic devices with unique properties such as chiral lasers, polarization-dependent mirrors, and coherent-perfect-absorber lasers. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that materials with chiral-gain can bypass a reciprocity constraint that typically limits the external coupling strength, thus facilitating the excitation of cavities with extremely large quality factors.