Self-Isolated Raman Lasing with a Chiral Dielectric Metasurface

The light sources that power photonic networks are small and scalable, but they also require the incorporation of optical isolators that allow light to pass in one direction only, protecting the light source from damaging backreflections. Unfortunately, the size and complex integration of optical isolators makes small-scale and densely integrated photonic networks infeasible. Here, we overcome this limitation by designing a single device that operates both as a coherent light source and as its own optical isolator. Our design relies on high-quality-factor dielectric metasurfaces that exhibit intrinsic chirality. By carefully manipulating the geometry of the constituent silicon metaatoms, we design three-dimensionally chiral modes that act as optical spin-dependent filters. Using spin-polarized Raman scattering together with our chiral metacavity, we demonstrate Raman lasing in the forward direction, while the lasing action is suppressed by over an order of magnitude for reflected light. Our high-Q chiral metasurface design presents a new approach toward compactly isolating integrated light sources by directly tailoring the emission properties of the light source itself.