{
  "abstract": "Optical isolation suppresses back-reflections that destabilize lasers, produce parasitic interference, and increase crosstalk in photonic systems. Although free-space and fibre-optic isolators are mature, no broadly adopted on-chip technology yet combines strong isolation, low insertion loss, broad bandwidth, compact footprint, and scalable fabrication. The difficulty is twofold: Lorentz reciprocity must be broken, and every relevant backward spatial, spectral, and polarization channel must be suppressed. This Review develops a common framework for assessing proposed solutions. We first distinguish pairwise nonreciprocity from intensity-asymmetric transmission and from true isolation using the constitutive relations and scattering matrix. We then compare three physical routes to an integrated nonreciprocal response: magneto-optical bias, externally driven space-time modulation, and nonlinear optical processes. Topological and non-Hermitian systems are treated as cross-cutting design frameworks that can route, protect, or enhance an underlying nonreciprocal response, but do not by themselves break reciprocity. Finally, we examine fundamental constraints and practical trade-offs among isolation, insertion loss, bandwidth, footprint, modal coverage, drive requirements, and fabrication compatibility. The resulting mechanism-based perspective connects reciprocity-breaking physics to the requirements of scalable photonic integrated circuits.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.17862",
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Abanoub Mikhail"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nikolay Solodovchenko"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sen Xu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fan Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maksim Tumashov"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mingzhao Song"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sergei Makarov"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrey Bogdanov"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3v8ryv5adbybw.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.17862",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3v8ryv5adbybw",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17862",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mes-hall"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.optics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2208|Magneto-Optical Properties and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221808871",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.17862",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-13",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3v8ryv5adbybw.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:11Z",
      "native_id": "2610.17862",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17862"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mes-hall",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.optics",
      "subfield": "optics-photonics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "On-chip optical isolators",
  "title_text": "On-chip optical isolators",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3v8ryv5adbybw",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}