We show that the simultaneous modulation of the propagation constant and of the gain/loss coefficient along the graded index multimode fibers results in unidirectional coupling among the modes, which leads to either the enhancement or the reduction of the excitation of higher order transverse modes, depending on the modulation parameters. In the latter case, effective mode cleaning is predicted, ideally resulting in single-mode spatially coherent output. The effect is semi-analytically predicted on a simplified Gaussian beam approximation and numerically proven by solving the wave propagation equation introducing the non-Hermitian modulated potential.

• Received 23 November 2022
• Accepted 7 June 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.043604