Nonreciprocal Amplification with Four-Level Hot Atoms.

Optical nonreciprocity is of paramount importance to optical signal processing and one-way optical communication. Here, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate nonreciprocal amplification based on four-level hot atoms by exploiting atomic Doppler shifts. Our approach is simple and easy to implement. In fair agreement with our theoretical modeling, forward power amplification of 26 dB and backward isolation of 30 dB are observed. Our results will open up a new avenue towards realistic devices based on nonreciprocal amplification.