PMID- 27345575
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20180427
LR  - 20181113
IS  - 2045-2322 (Electronic)
IS  - 2045-2322 (Linking)
VI  - 6
DP  - 2016 Jun 27
TI  - Experimental Realization of a Reflections-Free Compact Delay Line Based on a 
      Photonic Topological Insulator.
PG  - 28453
LID - 10.1038/srep28453 [doi]
LID - 28453
AB  - Electromagnetic (EM) waves propagating through an inhomogeneous medium are 
      generally scattered whenever the medium's electromagnetic properties change on 
      the scale of a single wavelength. This fundamental phenomenon constrains how 
      optical structures are designed and interfaced with each other. Recent 
      theoretical work indicates that electromagnetic structures collectively known as 
      photonic topological insulators (PTIs) can be employed to overcome this 
      fundamental limitation, thereby paving the way for ultra-compact photonic 
      structures that no longer have to be wavelength-scale smooth. Here we present the 
      first experimental demonstration of a photonic delay line based on topologically 
      protected surface electromagnetic waves (TPSWs) between two PTIs which are the EM 
      counterparts of the quantum spin-Hall topological insulators in condensed matter. 
      Unlike conventional guided EM waves that do not benefit from topological 
      protection, TPSWs are shown to experience multi-wavelength reflection-free time 
      delays when detoured around sharply-curved paths, thus offering a unique paradigm 
      for compact and efficient wave buffers and other devices.
FAU - Lai, Kueifu
AU  - Lai K
AD  - Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, 
      USA.
FAU - Ma, Tsuhsuang
AU  - Ma T
AD  - Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, 
      USA.
FAU - Bo, Xiao
AU  - Bo X
AD  - Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University 
      of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-4111, USA.
AD  - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, 
      College Park, Maryland 20742-3285, USA.
FAU - Anlage, Steven
AU  - Anlage S
AD  - Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, Department of Physics, University 
      of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-4111, USA.
AD  - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, 
      College Park, Maryland 20742-3285, USA.
FAU - Shvets, Gennady
AU  - Shvets G
AD  - Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, 
      USA.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
DEP - 20160627
PL  - England
TA  - Sci Rep
JT  - Scientific reports
JID - 101563288
PMC - PMC4921924
EDAT- 2016/06/28 06:00
MHDA- 2016/06/28 06:01
PMCR- 2016/06/27
CRDT- 2016/06/28 06:00
PHST- 2016/05/05 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2016/05/31 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2016/06/28 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2016/06/28 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2016/06/28 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2016/06/27 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - srep28453 [pii]
AID - 10.1038/srep28453 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 27;6:28453. doi: 10.1038/srep28453.