Configurable topological photonic polycrystal based on a synthetic hybrid dimension

Tianyue Li; Mengjiao Liu; Jin Qin; Jianzheng Ren; Jiahao Hou; Yang Liu; Xing Yang; Hongchen Chu; Yun Lai; Shuming Wang; Jian-Hua Jiang; Che Ting Chan; Shining Zhu

doi:10.1093/nsr/nwaf107

Configurable topological photonic polycrystal based on a synthetic hybrid dimension

Natl Sci Rev. 2025 Mar 24;12(6):nwaf107. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwaf107. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Authors

Tianyue Li^{1

2

3}, Mengjiao Liu^{1

2}, Jin Qin^{1

2}, Jianzheng Ren⁴, Jiahao Hou^{1

2}, Yang Liu⁵, Xing Yang^{1

2}, Hongchen Chu⁶, Yun Lai^{1

2}, Shuming Wang^{1

2

7}, Jian-Hua Jiang^{5

8}, Che Ting Chan³, Shining Zhu^{1

2

7}

Affiliations

¹ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
³ Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 999077, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁵ School of Physical Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
⁶ School of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093, China.
⁸ Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou 215123, China.

Abstract

Topological photonic structures exhibit resilience to defects, allowing unidirectional light flow and promoting the development of robust devices with large information processing capacities. However, the diversity of topological boundary modes is typically governed by bulk-edge correspondence, which limits multidimensional multiplexing and the integration density of next-generation photonic systems. Here, we present a polycrystal approach based on domain wall engineering to configure multi-band dispersion in a synthetic hybrid dimension by utilizing orientation freedom. As a prototype, we demonstrate that an all-dielectric platform for hybrid topological polycrystalline photonic integrated circuits can support up to eight edge channels and four corner modes via pseudospin-valley Hall effect, empowering controllable directionality of multi-frequency and spinful channels with highly localized performance. Our findings reveal a photonic architecture that significantly advances the on-chip integration of topological photonics, offering valuable potential for future information processing technologies across optical and microwave frequencies.

Keywords: domain walls; photonic integrated circuits; pseudospin-valley coupling; synthetic dimensions; topological photonics.