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Optical Isolator: Protecting a Single-Photon Source

Toggle a Faraday optical isolator on and off between a fragile single-photon source and a reflective downstream component. Watch back-reflected light either freely re-enter the source and destabilize its emission, or get blocked at the isolator, keeping the source's output quality clean.

Quantum Physics3DModerate60 FPS

A fragile single-photon source sits at the start of an optical bench, followed by a Faraday optical isolator and a downstream component that reflects some fraction of the light back. This simulation lets you toggle the isolator on and off and adjust how reflective the downstream component is, so you can watch forward photons pass through unimpeded in both cases while back-reflected light is either blocked cleanly at the isolator or allowed to freely re-enter and destabilize the source's emission.

⚙ Under the hood

Toggle a Faraday optical isolator on and off between a fragile single-photon source and a reflective downstream component. Forward photons always pass through, but with the isolator off, back-reflected light freely re-enters the source and destabilizes its emission rate and photon quality; with it on, that light is blocked at the isolator and the source stays clean. An adjustable downstream-reflectivity slider makes the isolator's benefit more dramatic the more reflective the downstream optics are.

optical isolatorFaraday effectnonreciprocal opticssingle-photon sourceback-reflectionquantum opticsphoton statistics

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install