Topological phase transition in a stretchable photonic crystal

Abstract

We design a setup to realize tunable topological phases in elastic photonic crystals. Using the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model as a canonical example, we show how a system can be continuously tuned across its topological phase transition by stretching. We examine the setup both analytically and numerically, showing how the phase transition point may be identified from the behavior of bulk modes. Our design principle is generic as it can be applied to a variety of systems, and enables multiple new theoretical predictions to be experimentally tested by continuously strain-tuning system properties, such as the shape of the bandstructure and the topological invariant. In addition, it allows for cost-effective device fabrication, since a wide range of parameter space can be accessed on a single photonic crystal chip.

6 pages, 7 figures; added results on the mean chiral displacement and updated reference list

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Topological Photonics
• Tunable Chiral Bound States with Giant Atoms
• Observation and control of nonlinear electromagnetic topological edge states
• A brief review of topological photonics in one, two, and three dimensions
• Nontrivial coupling of light into a defect: the interplay of nonlinearity and topology
• Topological metasurface: From passive toward active and beyond
• Two-point spectroscopy of Fibonacci topoelectrical circuits
• Symmetry induced selective excitation of topological states in SSH waveguide arrays
• Transmission in a Fano-Anderson chain with a topological defect