In a recent work published in Opto-Electronic Science
Opto-Electronic Advances, Volume. 6, Issue 4, 230056(2023)
Beam splitter benefits from topological antichiral edge states
A functional beam splitter is proposed with recently realized topological antichiral edge states, which offer multi-channel utilization, crosstalk-proof performance, and robustness against defects and obstacles.
In a recent work published in Opto-Electronic Science
Overall, by leveraging the unique properties of antichiral GPCs, Chen and Li have demonstrated a highly efficient and versatile approach to beam splitting that has potential applications in a wide range of fields. The development of this configurable topological beam splitter has potential implications for a wide range of optical applications, including telecommunications, optical computing, and sensing. In telecommunications, for example, the splitter can be used to divide a single input signal into multiple output signals that can be transmitted over different channels simultaneously. In optical computing, the splitter can be used to route signals between different components or modules.
One of the key advantages of antichiral GPCs is their robustness against defects and obstacles. For example, the waves can bypass a defect without reflection, as illustrated in
This beam splitter replies on the concept of antichiral edge states, which was first proposed in a modified Haldane model
In the past years, several beam splitting mechanisms have been proposed replying on different topological states, such as chiral edge states
Recently, researchers have been investigating novel approaches of beam splitting in the context of topological photonics
Beam splitters play a crucial role in a wide range of optical systems. A typical beam splitter consists of several transport channels, and an input beam from one channel is split into multiple output beams coupled into other channels. For traditional beam splitters, their transportation channels (either in free space or waveguides) are reciprocal, being sensitive to various perturbations caused by defects and obstacles.
The proposed topological beam splitter consists of two rectangular antichiral GPCs (named as GPC 1 and GPC 2 in
Figure 1.
Nonetheless, there are still some shortcomings and drawbacks to this topological beam splitter. For instance, the antichiral GPC is gapless in its bulk, which will not exclude wave penetration like in photonic bandgap materials. Additionally, the current demonstration is in microwave regime. It remains a challenge to extend the realization to the optical spectrum. Lastly, it should be noted that this topological beam splitter is actually a one-dimensional (1D) splitter, as it utilizes the 1D edge states. It is possible that a two-dimensional (2D) splitter can be constructed by utilizing the surface states of a three-dimensional (3D) topological photonic system, such as 3D photonic Chern insulators
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Gui-Geng Liu, Baile Zhang. Beam splitter benefits from topological antichiral edge states[J]. Opto-Electronic Advances, 2023, 6(4): 230056
Category: Research Articles
Received: Apr. 10, 2023
Accepted: Apr. 13, 2023
Published Online: Jun. 13, 2023
The Author Email: Liu Gui-Geng (blzhang@ntu.edu.sg), Zhang Baile (blzhang@ntu.edu.sg)