1 February 2018 | Miguel A. Bandres, Steffen Wittek, Gal Harari, Midya Parto, Jinhan Ren, Mordechai Segev, Demetrios N. Christodoulides, Mercedeh Khajavikhan
A nonmagnetic topological insulator laser system has been demonstrated, exhibiting topologically protected transport in a cavity. This system shows single-mode lasing, robustness against defects, and significantly higher slope efficiencies compared to topologically trivial counterparts. The laser uses S-chiral microresonators to enforce unidirectional lasing without magnetic fields. The topological properties enable robust, scatter-free light propagation, making the laser immune to defects and disorder. The design involves a 10×10 coupled ring-resonator array on an active platform with vertically stacked InGaAsP quantum wells. The array is coupled to a waveguide for output coupling, and the topological architecture is based on adding gain and loss to a topological passive silicon platform. The ring resonators are coupled via link rings designed to be antiresonant, with spatially shifted links introducing asymmetric hopping phases. This creates a synthetic magnetic field and two topologically non-trivial bandgaps. The system was tested under various pumping conditions, showing that the topological array lases in a single mode with higher efficiency and narrower linewidth compared to the trivial array. The topological edge mode is strongly confined to the edge and always reaches the output coupler, while the trivial array's modes are localized and emit in multiple wavelengths. The system was also tested with defects, showing that the topological array can bypass defects and maintain lasing. The laser was further demonstrated using S-bend elements, which enforce unidirectional spin-like modes. The results show that the topological laser operates in a single mode with high slope efficiency and is robust against defects and disorder. This work paves the way for active topological photonic devices with unique properties and functionalities.A nonmagnetic topological insulator laser system has been demonstrated, exhibiting topologically protected transport in a cavity. This system shows single-mode lasing, robustness against defects, and significantly higher slope efficiencies compared to topologically trivial counterparts. The laser uses S-chiral microresonators to enforce unidirectional lasing without magnetic fields. The topological properties enable robust, scatter-free light propagation, making the laser immune to defects and disorder. The design involves a 10×10 coupled ring-resonator array on an active platform with vertically stacked InGaAsP quantum wells. The array is coupled to a waveguide for output coupling, and the topological architecture is based on adding gain and loss to a topological passive silicon platform. The ring resonators are coupled via link rings designed to be antiresonant, with spatially shifted links introducing asymmetric hopping phases. This creates a synthetic magnetic field and two topologically non-trivial bandgaps. The system was tested under various pumping conditions, showing that the topological array lases in a single mode with higher efficiency and narrower linewidth compared to the trivial array. The topological edge mode is strongly confined to the edge and always reaches the output coupler, while the trivial array's modes are localized and emit in multiple wavelengths. The system was also tested with defects, showing that the topological array can bypass defects and maintain lasing. The laser was further demonstrated using S-bend elements, which enforce unidirectional spin-like modes. The results show that the topological laser operates in a single mode with high slope efficiency and is robust against defects and disorder. This work paves the way for active topological photonic devices with unique properties and functionalities.