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<p>Multistability—the presence of multiple stable states under identical conditions—is a hallmark of nonlinear complexity, and in optics, a key enabler for multilevel optical memory. Yet, realizing optical multistability in a compact footprint useful for on-chip applications remains challenging, because optical nonlinearities are intrinsically weak and large free spectral range increases the multistability threshold. Here we achieve multistability by engineering a pair of spectrally close, ultrahigh-<i>Q</i> resonances in a photonic crystal microcavity. Leveraging structural perturbations that deliberately introduce non-Hermitian coupling through a shared radiation channel, we drive the resonances towards an exceptional point with nearly degenerate wavelengths and almost-equal quality factors approaching 10<sup>6</sup>. This configuration produces a pronounced tristability from thermo-optical nonlinearity within a 20-μm-diameter circular footprint, evidenced by hysteresis loops with 240-μW input power. Using this concept, we then demonstrate a proof-of-concept optical random-access memory that operates via controlled switching among the multistable states.</p>

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Optical multistability in a compact microcavity enabled by near-exceptional coupling

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月16日

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  • Zhen Liu,
  • Xuefan Yin,
  • Andrey Bogdanov,
  • Yujia Nie,
  • Yi Zuo,
  • Hongbin Li,
  • Feifan Wang,
  • Chao Peng

摘要

Multistability—the presence of multiple stable states under identical conditions—is a hallmark of nonlinear complexity, and in optics, a key enabler for multilevel optical memory. Yet, realizing optical multistability in a compact footprint useful for on-chip applications remains challenging, because optical nonlinearities are intrinsically weak and large free spectral range increases the multistability threshold. Here we achieve multistability by engineering a pair of spectrally close, ultrahigh-Q resonances in a photonic crystal microcavity. Leveraging structural perturbations that deliberately introduce non-Hermitian coupling through a shared radiation channel, we drive the resonances towards an exceptional point with nearly degenerate wavelengths and almost-equal quality factors approaching 106. This configuration produces a pronounced tristability from thermo-optical nonlinearity within a 20-μm-diameter circular footprint, evidenced by hysteresis loops with 240-μW input power. Using this concept, we then demonstrate a proof-of-concept optical random-access memory that operates via controlled switching among the multistable states.