Phys.org April 24, 2024 Although in electronic crystals, magnetic fields can be used to induce a multitude of unique phenomena, the uncharged nature of photons necessitates alternative approaches to bring about similar control over photons at the nanoscale. Researchers in the Netherlands demonstrated experimentally pseudomagnetic fields in two-dimensional photonic crystals through engineered strain of the lattice. Taking advantage of the photonic crystal’s design freedom, they realized domains of opposite pseudomagnetic field and observed chiral edge states at their interface. They revealed that the strain-induced states could achieve remarkably high quality factors despite being phase matched to the radiation continuum. Together […]
Category Archives: Photonic crystals
Steering light to places it isn’t supposed to go
Phys.org April 28, 2021 The best materials for housing qubits and certain other optically activated objects typically reflect incident light. By stopping externally applied light from reaching its target, this reflectivity presents a challenge for controlling optically integrated devices. Researchers in the Netherlands have demonstrated a way of guiding light along an arbitrary path through a material by patterning the light’s phase. They shone an infrared beam into the edge of a 2D silicon crystal containing a periodic arrangement of air-filled pores. A large fraction of the light was reflected back along the beam, but because of disorder in the […]