Asymmetric wave propagation in planar chiral fibers

We demonstrate the realization of a two-dimensional chiral optical waveguide with an infinite translational symmetry that exhibits asymmetric wave propagation. The low-symmetry geometry of the cross-section that lacks any rotational and mirror symmetries shows in-principal directional asymmetric polarization rotation. We use general symmetry arguments to provide qualitative analysis of the waveguide's eigenstates and numerically corroborate this using finite element simulation. We show that despite the only perturbative break of time-reversal symmetry via small modal losses, the structure supports a non-degenerate pair of co-rotating elliptical modes. We fabricated meters long fiber with a spiral structure and studied its optical properties.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (Program) (Award DMR-0819762)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (Contract W911NF-07-D-0004