On-chip optical non-reciprocity through a synthetic Hall effect for photons

Abstract: We demonstrate a synthetic Hall effect for light, using an acousto-optically modulated nanophotonic resonator chain. To produce this effect, we simultaneously generate the required synthetic electric field using temporal modulation, and the required synthetic magnetic field using spatial modulation of the resonator chain. We show how the combination of these synthetic fields transverse to the direction of light propagation can be used to produce non-reciprocal optical transmission, as a basis for new photonic and topological devices.