A brief review of topological photonics in one, two, and three dimensions

TL;DR

This review summarizes the development of topological photonics across one, two, and three dimensions, emphasizing topological invariants and bulk-boundary correspondence to understand light manipulation robust against disorder.

Contribution

It provides a unified framework for understanding topological photonics through topological invariants and explores potential future directions with new invariants and phenomena.

Findings

Overview of topological photonics in various dimensions

Discussion of topological invariants and bulk-boundary correspondence

Potential for new topological phenomena and invariants

Abstract

Topological photonics has attracted increasing attention in recent years due to the unique opportunities it provides to manipulate light in a robust way immune to disorder and defects. Up to now, diverse photonic platforms, rich physical mechanisms and fruitful device applications have been proposed for topological photonics, including one-way waveguide, topological lasing, topological nanocavity, Dirac and Weyl points, Fermi arcs, nodal lines, etc. In this review, we provide an introduction to the field of topological photonics through the lens of topological invariants and bulk-boundary correspondence in one, two, and three dimensions, which may not only offer a unified understanding about the underlying robustness of diverse and distinct topological phenomena of light, but could also inspire further developments by introducing new topological invariants and unconventional bulk-boundary correspondence to the research of topological photonics.