Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism

Abstract Topological photonic structures have great potential to revolutionize on-chip optical integration due to the merit of robust propagation. However, an equally important issue, i.e., the efficient input and output coupling of topological structure with other elements, has not been systematica...

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Main Authors: Bojian Shi, Qi Jia, Xiaoxin Li, Yanxia Zhang, Hang Li, Yanyu Gao, Wenya Gao, Xiaoyu Li, Donghua Tang, Tongtong Zhu, Shan Gao, Jing Yang, Rui Feng, Fangkui Sun, Chunying Guan, Yongyin Cao, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Weiqiang Ding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59941-6
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author Bojian Shi
Qi Jia
Xiaoxin Li
Yanxia Zhang
Hang Li
Yanyu Gao
Wenya Gao
Xiaoyu Li
Donghua Tang
Tongtong Zhu
Shan Gao
Jing Yang
Rui Feng
Fangkui Sun
Chunying Guan
Yongyin Cao
Cheng-Wei Qiu
Weiqiang Ding
author_facet Bojian Shi
Qi Jia
Xiaoxin Li
Yanxia Zhang
Hang Li
Yanyu Gao
Wenya Gao
Xiaoyu Li
Donghua Tang
Tongtong Zhu
Shan Gao
Jing Yang
Rui Feng
Fangkui Sun
Chunying Guan
Yongyin Cao
Cheng-Wei Qiu
Weiqiang Ding
author_sort Bojian Shi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Topological photonic structures have great potential to revolutionize on-chip optical integration due to the merit of robust propagation. However, an equally important issue, i.e., the efficient input and output coupling of topological structure with other elements, has not been systematically addressed. Here, we reveal that the coupling of topological photonic structures does not follow the mode matching principle widely used before, but follows the principle of transverse spin matching (TSM). According to this mechanism, efficient coupling between a topological waveguide (TWG) and a strip waveguide (SWG) is designed theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. Theoretical and experimental transmission efficiencies of 96.3% and 94.2% are respectively obtained, which are much larger than those obtained before. The TSM enabled efficient topological structure coupling guarantees a high overall energy efficiency, and paves the way for compact topological photonic chips.
format Article
id doaj-art-59b1601f8bf54d5cb92d8f2d1d09b6e1
institution Kabale University
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-59b1601f8bf54d5cb92d8f2d1d09b6e12025-08-20T03:48:18ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-011611710.1038/s41467-025-59941-6Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanismBojian Shi0Qi Jia1Xiaoxin Li2Yanxia Zhang3Hang Li4Yanyu Gao5Wenya Gao6Xiaoyu Li7Donghua Tang8Tongtong Zhu9Shan Gao10Jing Yang11Rui Feng12Fangkui Sun13Chunying Guan14Yongyin Cao15Cheng-Wei Qiu16Weiqiang Ding17Institute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Physics, School of Science, Northeast Forestry UniversitySchool of Physics, Dalian University of TechnologyCollege of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering UniversityCollege of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering UniversityInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyCollege of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering UniversityInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of SingaporeInstitute of Advanced Photonics, School of Physics, Harbin Institute of TechnologyAbstract Topological photonic structures have great potential to revolutionize on-chip optical integration due to the merit of robust propagation. However, an equally important issue, i.e., the efficient input and output coupling of topological structure with other elements, has not been systematically addressed. Here, we reveal that the coupling of topological photonic structures does not follow the mode matching principle widely used before, but follows the principle of transverse spin matching (TSM). According to this mechanism, efficient coupling between a topological waveguide (TWG) and a strip waveguide (SWG) is designed theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. Theoretical and experimental transmission efficiencies of 96.3% and 94.2% are respectively obtained, which are much larger than those obtained before. The TSM enabled efficient topological structure coupling guarantees a high overall energy efficiency, and paves the way for compact topological photonic chips.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59941-6
spellingShingle Bojian Shi
Qi Jia
Xiaoxin Li
Yanxia Zhang
Hang Li
Yanyu Gao
Wenya Gao
Xiaoyu Li
Donghua Tang
Tongtong Zhu
Shan Gao
Jing Yang
Rui Feng
Fangkui Sun
Chunying Guan
Yongyin Cao
Cheng-Wei Qiu
Weiqiang Ding
Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
Nature Communications
title Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
title_full Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
title_fullStr Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
title_full_unstemmed Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
title_short Efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
title_sort efficient coupling of topological photonic crystal waveguides based on transverse spin matching mechanism
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59941-6
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