Direct quantification of topological protection in symmetry-protected photonic edge states at telecom wavelengths.

ABSTRACT: Topological on-chip photonics based on tailored photonic crystals (PhCs) that emulate quantum valley-Hall effects has recently gained widespread interest owing to its promise of robust unidirectional transport of classical and quantum information. We present a direct quantitative evaluation of topological photonic edge eigenstates and their transport properties in the telecom wavelength range using phase-resolved near-field optical microscopy. Experimentally visualizing the detailed sub-wavelength structure of these modes propagating along the interface between two topologically non-trivial mirror-symmetric lattices allows us to map their dispersion relation and differentiate between the contributions of several higher-order Bloch harmonics. Selective probing of forward- and backward-propa

SUBMITTER: Arora S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7788078 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature