Topological photonics: Physics and Applications [TP]
● Research fields
Photonic crystal & Metamaterials;
Microwave;
Microscopic angle-resolved spectrometer;
Topological photonics.
● Research details
In mathematics, topology is concerned with the global properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations. e.g. a torus is topologically equivalent to a mug, but not to a sphere. Similar ideas can also be applied to the Bloch wave functions of crystals, and we can classify the crystals into different topological types, in full electromagnetic spectrum, during microwave, optics, and nanophotonics.
Sub-research 1: Topological physics and optics [TP1]
Topological concepts have profound influence in condensed matter physics. These concepts can be applied equally to other branches of physics, including photonic systems. They have attracted much attention recently, not only because they provide powerful tools to describe and discover new phases of matter but also because of the potential to develop robust devices that cannot be disrupted by small perturbations. Based on our recent progress in this field, we will study novel photonic structures and their topological effect, mostly in microwave regime.
Spin flow of light in topological photonic crystals and microwave setup
[1] Experimental realization of photonic topological insulator in a uniaxial metacrystal waveguide, Nat. Commun. 5, 5782 (2014).
[2] Synthetic gauge flux and Weyl points in acoustic systems, Nat. Phys. 11, 920 (2015).
[3] Photonic crystals possessing multiple Weyl points and the experimental observation of robust surface states, Nat. Commun. 7, 13038 (2016).
[4] 能谷光子晶体与拓扑光传输，《物理》第六期专题，2019年.
Sub-research 2: Measuring topological effects in nanophotonics [TP2]
Recent advances of topological physics provide a new paradigm to develop integrated nanodevices with robustly light propagation and unidirectional coupling. Based on our recent progress in this field, one of our emerging works is the precise measurement of topological effects in integrated photonic chip, by using advanced optics technology, such as microscopic angle-resolved spectrometer (mARS), a high-level facility for optical experimental measurement of topological nanophotonic effects in k space.
Microscopic angle-resolved spectrometer
[1] Valley photonic crystals for control of spin and topology, Nat. Mat. 16, 298 (2017).
[2] A silicon-on-insulator slab for topological valley transport, Nat. Commun. 10, 872 (2019).
[3] “Observation of polarization vortices in momentum space.” Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 186103 (2018).
● Required background
TP1: Electrodynamics, Quantum mechanics, Solid state physics, Group Theory in Physics, Topological Physics.
TP2: Basic/experienced skill in optical experiments. Interested in optics principle of microscope and spectroscope.
● Research suitability
PhD, MPhil, Undergraduate [Position TP1 and TP2]
● Contact supervisor
TP1: Professor Wen-Jie Chen (博导) chenwenj5.at.SYSU, Associate Professor Xiao-Dong Chen (硕导) chenxd67.at.SYSU
TP2: Professor Jian-Wen Dong (博导) dongjwen.at.SYSU