All-Optical Terahertz Dual-Band Logic Gates Based on Unidirectional Modes

All-optical logic gates have emerged as a critical technology for enabling broadband, low-loss, and high-speed communication systems, addressing the inherent bandwidth limitations of electronic counterparts. Here, we propose a Y-shaped structure leveraging unidirectional modes in the terahertz regime, which enables the realization of multifunctional all-optical logic gates within the lower- and upper-frequency bandwidth regions, including, but not limited to, AND, OR, NOT, and XNOR gates. Numerical simulations and theoretical analyses confirm that the proposed logic gates exhibit robust one-way propagation characteristics, with electromagnetic signals demonstrating complete immunity to backscattering even in the presence of structural defects. Furthermore, nonlocal effects are found to have a negligible impact on the operational bandwidths of our design. Building upon this Y-shaped configuration, we further develop an all-optical digital logic system (AODLS) capable of supporting bifrequency multi-input and multi-output logic operations. When lower- and upper-frequency signals are injected into separate input ports, their corresponding output signals remain fully independent, eliminating cross-talk and enabling true parallel computation. This dual-band parallel processing capability represents a significant advance over conventional single-band all-optical logic systems, opening new avenues for high-throughput all-optical computing and integrated photonic circuits.

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Publication Details

Journal
Micromachines
Published
2026-04-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17050509
Primary Topic
Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

All-Optical Terahertz Dual-Band Logic Gates Based on Unidirectional Modes

Jie Xu, Guo Dewang, Yun You, Zhimin Liu
Micromachines
Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research
article

All-Optical Terahertz Dual-Band Logic Gates Based on Unidirectional Modes

Jie Xu, Guo Dewang, Yun You, Zhimin Liu
article en

Abstract

All-optical logic gates have emerged as a critical technology for enabling broadband, low-loss, and high-speed communication systems, addressing the inherent bandwidth limitations of electronic counterparts. Here, we propose a Y-shaped structure leveraging unidirectional modes in the terahertz regime, which enables the realization of multifunctional all-optical logic gates within the lower- and upper-frequency bandwidth regions, including, but not limited to, AND, OR, NOT, and XNOR gates. Numerical simulations and theoretical analyses confirm that the proposed logic gates exhibit robust one-way propagation characteristics, with electromagnetic signals demonstrating complete immunity to backscattering even in the presence of structural defects. Furthermore, nonlocal effects are found to have a negligible impact on the operational bandwidths of our design. Building upon this Y-shaped configuration, we further develop an all-optical digital logic system (AODLS) capable of supporting bifrequency multi-input and multi-output logic operations. When lower- and upper-frequency signals are injected into separate input ports, their corresponding output signals remain fully independent, eliminating cross-talk and enabling true parallel computation. This dual-band parallel processing capability represents a significant advance over conventional single-band all-optical logic systems, opening new avenues for high-throughput all-optical computing and integrated photonic circuits.

MicromachinesVol. 17(5)
East China Jiaotong University (CN), Southwest Medical University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research
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