Exceptional-point-induced asymmetric mode conversion in a dual-core optical fiber segment.

The engineering of exceptional points (EPs) in open optical systems has lately attracted much attention for developing future all-optical devices. However, investigation of the fascinating features of EPs in fiber geometries is lacking. We design a fabrication feasible dual-core optical fiber segment, where non-Hermiticity in terms of a symmetric customized gain-loss profile is introduced to modulate the interaction between two corresponding coupled modes toward hosting a dynamical EP encirclement scheme in the gain-loss parameter space. An asymmetric conversion process between two supported modes is reported by exploiting the chirality of the encountered EP. The proposed scheme can lead to an advanced platform to design mode-manipulative all-optical components in communication and all-fiber photonic devices.