Pseudospin-1 Physics of Photonic Crystals

Open investigation on the interaction length between a terahertz wave and an embedded dielectric ZRIM structure, and also phase tuning

In this paper, we have focused on the near field behaviour of 2D Photonic Crystal-based dielectric zero refractive index metamaterial lattices with cylindrical silicon rods embedded in THz waveguides having PMC sidewalls. An "interaction length" is expected in both input and output sides of a ZRIM lattice, after illumination of a TE polarized THz electromagnetic wave. In other words, by getting closer than a specific distance to the ZRIM lattice area from both input and output sides, which is called the interaction length, the wave profile will be affected significantly. Studying the field profile variation in the output side of the ZRIM lattice, we have considered two separate cascaded 2D PC-based ZRIM lattices in a THz waveguide with the same conditions and computed spatial phase shifts, and also the transmission and reflection coefficients versus the displacement between the two ZRIM lattices. This small limited distance led us to an almost 34° phase shift tuning between THz waves in two (multiple) THz waveguide systems.

Topological sound in two dimensions

Topology is the branch of mathematics studying the properties of an object that are preserved under continuous deformations. Quite remarkably, the powerful theoretical tools of topology have been applied over the past few years to study the electronic band structure of crystals. Topological band theory can explain and predict topological phase transitions in a material, and the unusual robustness of certain band structure shapes, such as Dirac cones, against small perturbations. These findings have also unveiled a new phase of matter-topological insulators-whose exotic transport properties at their boundaries are topologically protected against imperfections and disorder. The fascinating features of topological boundary states have triggered the search for their analogs in classical wave physics. Here, we focus on the peculiar features of two-dimensional topological insulators for sound and mechanical waves. Two-dimensional Dirac cones and phononic topological insulators can emerge under certain conditions in periodic acoustic metamaterials, demonstrating great potential for acoustic and mechanical systems to demonstrate, over a tabletop platform, complex fundamental phenomena driven by topological concepts. In addition, these discoveries offer a direct path toward new technologies for enhanced sound control and manipulation.

Experimental Observation of Non-Abelian Earring Nodal Links in Phononic Crystals

Nodal lines are symmetry-protected one-dimensional band degeneracies in momentum space, which can appear in numerous topological configurations such as nodal rings, chains, links, and knots. Very recently, non-Abelian topological physics have been proposed in space-time inversion (PT) symmetric systems. One of the most special configurations in such systems is the earring nodal link, composing of a nodal chain linking with an isolated nodal line. Such earring nodal links have not been observed in real systems. We designed phononic crystals with earring nodal links, and experimentally observed two different kinds of earring nodal links by measuring the band structures. We found that the order of the nodal chain and line can be switched after band inversion but their link cannot be severed. Our Letter provides experimental evidence for phenomena unique to non-Abelian band topology and our acoustic system provides a convenient platform for studying the new materials carrying non-Abelian charges.

Dynamic Colloidal Photonic Crystal Hydrogels with Self-Recovery and Injectability

Simulation of self-recovery and diversity of natural photonic crystal (PC) structures remain great challenges for artificial PC materials. Motivated by the dynamic characteristics of PC nanostructures, here, we present a new strategy for the design of hydrogel-based artificial PC materials with reversible interactions in the periodic nanostructures. The dynamic PC hydrogels, derived from self-assembled microgel colloidal crystals, were tactfully constructed by reversible crosslinking of adjacent microgels in the ordered structure via phenylboronate covalent chemistry. As proof of concept, three types of dynamic colloidal PC hydrogels with different structural colors were prepared. All the hydrogels showed perfect self-healing ability against physical damage. Moreover, dynamic crosslinking within the microgel crystals enabled shear-thinning injection of the PC hydrogels through a syringe (indicating injectability or printability), followed by rapid recovery of the structural colors. In short, in addition to the great significance in biomimicry of self-healing function of natural PC materials, our work provides a facile strategy for the construction of diversified artificial PC materials for different applications such as chem-/biosensing, counterfeit prevention, optical display, and energy conversion.

Biomimetic design of photonic materials for biomedical applications

Photonic crystal (PC) materials with bio-inspired structure colors have drawn increasing attention as their potentials have been rapidly progressed in the field of biomedicine. After elaborate integration with smart materials or preparations through advanced techniques, PC materials have shown significant advantages in biosensing, bio-probing, bio-screening, tissue engineering, and so forth. In this review, we first introduced the fundamentals of PC materials as well as their fabrication strategies with different dimensional outputs. Based on these diversified PC materials, their biomedical potentials as biosensing elements, cell carriers, drug delivery systems, screening methods, cell scaffolds for tissue engineering, cell imaging probes, as well as the monitoring means for biological processes were then highlighted. In addition to these, we finally listed and discussed some emerging applications of PCs integrated with functional materials and newly developed material engineering technologies. In short, this review will provide a panoramic view of PCs-based biomedicines, and moreover, the progressive discussions from fundamentals to advanced applications in this review may also encourage researchers to innovate PC materials or devices for broader biomedical applications.

Pulse Reshaping in Double-zero-index Photonic Crystals with Dirac-like-cone Dispersion

Triply-degenerate Dirac-like cone at the Brillouin zone center attracts much research interest in recent years. Whether the linear dispersion in such a Dirac-like cone reflects the same physics to Dirac cones at the Brillouin zone boundaries is still under investigation. In this manuscript, through microwave experiments and numerical simulations, we observe intriguing pulse reshaping phenomena in double-zero-index photonic crystals, which cannot be fully understood from their close-to-zero effective parameters. A reshaped pulse, with frequency components close to the Dirac frequency filtered, is propagating at a constant group velocity while part of these filtered frequencies appears at a much later time. In time domain measurements, we find a way to separate the effect between the linear dispersion and the extra flat band in Dirac-like cone to have a better understanding of the underneath physics. We succeed in obtaining the group velocity inside a double-zero-index photonic crystal and good consistence can be found between experiments, numerical simulations and band diagram calculations.

Responsive principles and applications of smart materials in biosensing

Biosensing is a rising analytical field for detection of biological indicators using transducing systems. Smart materials can response to external stimuli, and translate the stimuli from biological domains into signals that are readable and quantifiable. Smart materials, such as nanomaterials, photonic crystals and hydrogels have been widely used for biosensing purpose. In this review, we illustrate the incorporation of smart materials in biosensing systems, including the design of responsive materials, their responsive mechanism of biosensing, and their applications in detection of four types of common biomolecules (including glucose, nucleic acids, proteins, and enzymes). In the end, we also illustrate the current challenges and prospective of using smart materials in biosensing research fields.