Topology of Far-field Signals for Photonic Crystal Slabs

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new topological invariant based on far-field polarization to analyze band topology in photonic crystal slabs, revealing phase transitions and polarization singularity exchanges.

Contribution

It proposes a novel winding number invariant for far-field polarization, linking it to the Chern number and advancing understanding of topological phase transitions in photonic crystals.

Findings

Winding number correlates with Chern number during phase transitions.

Polarization singularities exchange occurs at topological phase transitions.

Far-field properties can reveal topological characteristics of photonic bands.

Abstract

The study of band topology in photonic crystals was primarily focused on near-field effects, including edge states and high order corner states. However, this work investigated the polarization distribution of radiated fields for photonic crystal slabs to get their far-field properties of band topology. We introduced a new topological invariant: the winding number of far-field polarization around the Brillouin zone boundary and confirmed a robust correspondence between it and the Chern number of energy bands from the perspective of symmetry, which can be used to analyze the process of topological phase transition. It is found that changes in the winding number and Chern number, associated with the exchange of far-field polarization singularities, especially for bound states in the continuum(BIC), will emerge during phase transition. These findings offer new insights for further understanding the intriguing properties of topological materials.