Slow light waveguides in topological valley photonic crystals

Valley photonic crystals (VPhCs) are an attractive platform for the implementation of topologically protected optical waveguides in photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The realization of slow light modes in the topological waveguides may lead to further miniaturization and functionalization of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2020-05, Vol.45 (9), p.2648-2651
Main Authors: Yoshimi, Hironobu, Yamaguchi, Takuto, Ota, Yasutomo, Arakawa, Yasuhiko, Iwamoto, Satoshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bends
Circuit protection
Integrated circuits
Light
Miniaturization
Optical waveguides
Photonic crystals
Robustness (mathematics)
Topology
Wave propagation
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Summary:Valley photonic crystals (VPhCs) are an attractive platform for the implementation of topologically protected optical waveguides in photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The realization of slow light modes in the topological waveguides may lead to further miniaturization and functionalization of the PICs. In this Letter, we report an approach to realize topological slow light waveguides in semiconductor-slab-based VPhCs. We show that a bearded interface of two topologically distinct VPhCs can support topological kink modes with large group indices over 100 within the topological bandgap. We numerically demonstrate robust light propagation in the topological slow light waveguide with large group indices of ∼60, even under the presence of sharp bends. Our work opens a novel route to implement topological slow light waveguides in a way compatible with current PIC technology.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/ol.391764