Freiburg 2019 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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FM: Fall Meeting

FM 47: Industry I: Photonics

FM 47.3: Invited Talk

Mittwoch, 25. September 2019, 11:40–12:00, Aula

A proposal for a topological phase modulator with π Berry phase shift — •Ulrich Gaubatz — Coriant R&D GmbH - Part of the Infinera Group

A proposal is made for a π phase shift of a polarized laser field when it passes an elementary birefringent wave plate. With a slight re-orientation of the wave plate relative to the input polarization state the overall phase of the light field (common to x and y component) suddenly changes by π which could be used for binary signal generation in modern high speed phase modulated optical transmission systems. The π phase shift is a topological or Pancharatnam-Berry phase variation which promises a new type of high speed optical modulators with low drive voltage. Due to the topological nature of the phenomena this type of modulator should be robust and well suited for optical integration. One experiment from the past is presented suggesting the existence of the proposed π jump, but also the non-supporting outcome from a single photon experiment. Topological arguments for the existence are discussed.