Topological Photonic Crystals
Due to the recent
discovery of topological insulators, it has been recognized that topology is
indispensable in distinguishing phases of matter. Similarly, new optical
material systems are being discovered with non-trivial topologies of their
wave-functions in the momentum space, whose interfaces support novel states of
light with unprecedented properties such as the robustness to disorder and
fabrication In this talk, I will show both experimental and theoretical results
on the realizations of various topological photonic crystals in 2D and 3D with
protected interfacial states. They include single and multi-mode one-way
waveguides of non-zero Chern numbers (Z), chiral surface states associated with
the 3D bulk Weyl points (Berry monopoles), as well as a symmetry-protected 3D
Z2 topological phase with a single surface Dirac cone. These new degrees of
freedom in band topologies promise wide exciting opportunities in both
fundamental physics and technological outcomes.
Ling Lu is
currently a postdoc in the Physics Department of Massachusetts Institute of
Technology working with Prof. Marin Soljačić
and John Joannopoulos. He obtained his bachelor in Physics in 2003 from
Fudan University in Shanghai, China. He did his Masters in Physics and
Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2010 all at
University of Southern California in Los Angeles. His thesis work, advised by
Prof. John O’Brien, was on photonic crystal nanocavity lasers. Collaborating
with Prof. Liang Fu, his current research focuses on topological photonics.
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