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Title: Topological Nature of Optical Bound States in the Continuum

Abstract

Optical bound states in the continuum (BICs) have recently been realized in photonic crystal slabs, where the disappearance of out-of-plane radiation turns leaky resonances into guided modes with infinite lifetimes. We show here that such BICs are vortex centers in the polarization directions of far-field radiation. They carry conserved and quantized topological charges, defined by the winding number of the polarization vectors, which ensure their robust existence and govern their generation, evolution, and annihilation. Our findings connect robust BICs in photonics to a wide range of topological physical phenomena.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [1]
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  2. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  3. Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). Dept. of Applied Physics
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); US Army Research Office (ARO); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1210642
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1181579
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0001299; FG02-09ER46577; W911NF-07-D0001; DMR-0819762; DMR-1307632
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 113; Journal Issue: 25; Journal ID: ISSN 0031-9007
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS

Citation Formats

Zhen, Bo, Hsu, Chia Wei, Lu, Ling, Stone, A. Douglas, and Soljačić, Marin. Topological Nature of Optical Bound States in the Continuum. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.257401.
Zhen, Bo, Hsu, Chia Wei, Lu, Ling, Stone, A. Douglas, & Soljačić, Marin. Topological Nature of Optical Bound States in the Continuum. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.257401
Zhen, Bo, Hsu, Chia Wei, Lu, Ling, Stone, A. Douglas, and Soljačić, Marin. 2014. "Topological Nature of Optical Bound States in the Continuum". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.257401. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1210642.
@article{osti_1210642,
title = {Topological Nature of Optical Bound States in the Continuum},
author = {Zhen, Bo and Hsu, Chia Wei and Lu, Ling and Stone, A. Douglas and Soljačić, Marin},
abstractNote = {Optical bound states in the continuum (BICs) have recently been realized in photonic crystal slabs, where the disappearance of out-of-plane radiation turns leaky resonances into guided modes with infinite lifetimes. We show here that such BICs are vortex centers in the polarization directions of far-field radiation. They carry conserved and quantized topological charges, defined by the winding number of the polarization vectors, which ensure their robust existence and govern their generation, evolution, and annihilation. Our findings connect robust BICs in photonics to a wide range of topological physical phenomena.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.257401},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1210642}, journal = {Physical Review Letters},
issn = {0031-9007},
number = 25,
volume = 113,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}

Journal Article:

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 484 works
Citation information provided by
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Figures / Tables:

FIG. 1 FIG. 1: (color online). Stable bound states in the continuum as vortex centers of polarization vectors. (a) Schematics of radiation field decomposition for resonances of a slab structure. The spatially averaged Bloch part of the electric field $$\langle$$uk$$\rangle$$ is projected onto the x-y plane as the polarization vector c =more » (cx, cy). A resonance turns into a BIC if and only if cx = cy = 0. (b) Schematic illustration for the nodal lines of cx (green) and of cy (red) in a region of k space near a BIC. The direction of vector c (shown in arrows) becomes undefined at the nodal line crossing, where a BIC is found. (c) Two possible configurations of the polarization field near a BIC. Along a closed loop in k space containing a BIC (loop goes in counterclockwise direction, 1 → 2 → 3 → 4), the polarization vector either rotates by angle 2π (denoted by topological charge q = +1) or rotates by angle −2π (denoted by topological charge q = −1). Different regions of the k space are colored in four gray-scale colors according to the signs of cx and cy. In this way, a BIC happens where all four gray-scale colors meet, and charge q = +1 corresponds to the color changing from white to black along the counterclockwise loop C, and charge q = −1 corresponds to the color changing from black to white.« less

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