Open AccessDetails of the topological state transition induced by gradually increased disorder in photonic Chern insulators
Author(s) -
Bing Yang,
Hong-fang Zhang,
Qiang Shi,
Tong Wu,
Yong Ma,
Zengtao Lv,
Xia Xiao,
Ruixin Dong,
Xi Yan,
Xiangdong Zhang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.405820
Subject(s) - photonics , photonic crystal , physics , topology (electrical circuits) , topological insulator , condensed matter physics , anderson localization , enhanced data rates for gsm evolution , state (computer science) , optics , telecommunications , computer science , mathematics , algorithm , combinatorics
Using two well-defined empirical parameters, we numerically investigate the details of the disorder-induced topological state transition (TST) in photonic Chern insulators composed of two-dimensional magnetic photonic crystals (MPCs). The TST undergoes a gradual process, accompanied with some interesting phenomena as the disorder of rod positions in MPCs increases gradually. This kind of TST is determined by the competition among the topologically protected edge state, disorder-induced wave localizations and bulk states in the system. More interestingly, the disorder-induced wave localizations almost have no influence on the one-way propagation of the original photonic topological states (PTSs), and the unidirectional nature of the PTSs at the edge area can survive even when the bulk states arise at stronger disorders. Our results provide detailed demonstrations for the deep understanding of fundamental physics underlying topology and disorder and are also of practical significance in device fabrication with PTSs.