No Arabic abstract
Topological photonics provides a fundamental framework for robust manipulation of light, including directional transport and localization with built-in immunity to disorder. Combined with an optical gain, active topological cavities hold special promise for a design of light-emitting devices. Most studies to date have focused on lasing at topological edges of finite systems or domain walls. Recently discovered higher-order topological phases enable strong high-quality confinement of light at the corners. Here we demonstrate lasing action of corner states in a nanophotonic topological cavity. We identify four multipole corner modes with distinct emission profiles via hyperspectral imaging and discern signatures of non-Hermitian radiative coupling of leaky topological states. In addition, depending on the pump position in a large-size cavity, we selectively generate lasing from either edge or corner states within the topological bandgap. Our findings introduce pathways to engineer collective resonances and tailor generation of light in active topological circuits.
Topological states of light have received significant attention due to the existence of counter-intuitive nontrivial boundary effects originating from the bulk properties of optical systems. Such boundary states, having their origin in topological properties of the bulk, are protected from perturbations and defects, and they show promises for a wide range of applications in photonic circuitry. The bulk-boundary correspondence relates the N-dimensional bulk modes to (N-1)-dimensional boundary states. Recently, the bulk-boundary correspondence was generalized to higher-order effects such that an N-dimensional bulk defines its (N-M)-dimensional boundary states. Prominent examples are topological corner states of light in two-dimensional structures that have been realized at the micrometer-scale. Such corner states, due to their tight confinement in all directions, provide a novel route towards topological cavities. Here we bring the concept of topological corner states to the nanoscale for enhancing nonlinear optical processes. Specifically, we design topologically nontrivial hybrid metasurfaces with C6-symmetric honeycomb lattices supporting both edge and corner states. We report on direct observations of nanoscale topology-empowered localization of light in corner states revealed via a nonlinear imaging technique. Nanoscale topological corner states pave the way towards on-chip applications in compact classical and quantum nanophotonic devices.
Topological states of light represent counterintuitive optical modes localized at boundaries of finite-size optical structures that originate from the properties of the bulk. Being defined by bulk properties, such boundary states are insensitive to certain types of perturbations, thus naturally enhancing robustness of photonic circuitries. Conventionally, the N-dimensional bulk modes correspond to (N-1)-dimensional boundary states. The higher-order bulk-boundary correspondence relates N-dimensional bulk to boundary states with dimensionality reduced by more than 1. A special interest lies in miniaturization of such higher-order topological states to the nanoscale. Here, we realize nanoscale topological corner states in metasurfaces with C6-symmetric honeycomb lattices. We directly observe nanoscale topology-empowered edge and corner localizations of light and enhancement of light-matter interactions via a nonlinear imaging technique. Control of light at the nanoscale empowered by topology may facilitate miniaturization and on-chip integration of classical and quantum photonic devices.
Recently, a new type of second-order topological insulator has been theoretically proposed by introducing an in-plane Zeeman field into the Kane-Mele model in the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. A pair of topological corner states arise at the corners with obtuse angles of an isolated diamond-shaped flake. To probe the corner states, we study their transport properties by attaching two leads to the system. Dressed by incoming electrons, the dynamic corner state is very different from its static counterpart. Resonant tunneling through the dressed corner state can occur by tuning the in-plane Zeeman field. At the resonance, the pair of spatially well separated and highly localized corner states can form a dimer state, whose wavefunction extends almost the entire bulk of the diamond-shaped flake. By varying the Zeeman field strength, multiple resonant tunneling events are mediated by the same dimer state. This re-entrance effect can be understood by a simple model. These findings extend our understanding of dynamic aspects of the second-order topological corner states.
We consider a system of weakly coupled Rashba nanowires in the strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI) regime. The nanowires are arranged into two tunnel-coupled layers proximitized by a top and bottom superconductor such that the superconducting phase difference between them is $pi$. We show that in such a system strong electron-electron interactions can stabilize a helical topological superconducting phase hosting Kramers partners of $mathbb{Z}_{2m}$ parafermion edge modes, where $m$ is an odd integer determined by the position of the chemical potential. Furthermore, upon turning on a weak in-plane magnetic field, the system is driven into a second-order topological superconducting phase hosting zero-energy $mathbb{Z}_{2m}$ parafermion bound states localized at two opposite corners of a rectangular sample. As a special case, zero-energy Majorana corner states emerge in the non-interacting limit $m=1$, where the chemical potential is tuned to the SOI energy of the single nanowires.
The second-order topological photonic crystal with 0D corner state provides a new way to investigate cavity quantum electrodynamics and develop topological nanophotonic devices with diverse functionalities. Here, we report on the optimization and robustness of topological corner state in the second-order topological photonic crystal both in theory and in experiment. The topological nanocavity is formed based on the 2D generalized Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. The quality factor of corner state is optimized theoretically and experimentally by changing the gap between two photonic crystals or just modulating the position or size of the airholes surrounding the corner. The fabricated quality factors are further optimized by the surface passivation treatment which reduces surface absorption. A maximum quality factor of the fabricated devices is about 6000, which is the highest value ever reported for the active topological corner state. Furthermore, we demonstrate the robustness of corner state against strong disorders including the bulk defect, edge defect, and even corner defect. Our results lay a solid foundation for the further investigations and applications of the topological corner state, such as the investigation of strong coupling regime and the development of optical devices for topological nanophotonic circuitry.