Unified Phase Criterion for Band Crossings in One-Dimensional Topological Photonics.
- 1Institute of Modern Opics, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering National Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Laser Nankai University Tianjin China.
- 2Tianjin Key Laboratory of Micro-Scale Optical Information Science and Technology Tianjin China.
- 3Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies Nankai University Tianjin China.
Abstract
One-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPCs) provide a simple and versatile platform for exploring topological photonics. Topological effects in these layered systems have enabled a range of applications in robust light confinement, lasing, modulation, and disorder-tolerant optical devices. Among their underlying band features, band crossings are of particular interest because they represent critical degeneracies associated with topological phase transitions in periodic media. However, although band crossings in one-dimensional topological photonics have been extensively studied, a unified theoretical criterion for their occurrence remains unclear. In this work, a unified phase criterion for band crossings that applies to both TE and TM polarizations from normal to oblique incidence was derived based on transfer-matrix method and Bloch theory. Notably, for TM polarization, besides the generic band crossings satisfying the integer-phase criterion, the Brewster condition enables additional crossings without the phase constraint, forming a straight trajectory in momentum space. These results establish a direct connection between classical interface optics and band-crossing formation in periodic media, and provide a unified framework for understanding and engineering band crossings in layered photonic structures. These findings provide design guidelines for multilayer photonic devices: Brewster-angle transmission improves fabrication tolerance, whereas polarization-independent band crossings enable robust polarization-insensitive optical responses.
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BibTeX
@article{song2026unified,
title = {{Unified Phase Criterion for Band Crossings in One-Dimensional Topological Photonics.}},
author = {Jingxuan Song and Haiyi Liu and Changlin Sun and Pengfei Qi and Weiwei Liu},
journal = {Nanophotonics (Berlin, Germany)},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/nap2.70329},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999750},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Unified Phase Criterion for Band Crossings in One-Dimensional Topological Photonics.
AU - Jingxuan Song
AU - Haiyi Liu
AU - Changlin Sun
AU - Pengfei Qi
AU - Weiwei Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Nanophotonics (Berlin, Germany)
DO - 10.1002/nap2.70329
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999750
AB - One-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPCs) provide a simple and versatile platform for exploring topological photonics. Topological effects in these layered systems have enabled a range of applications in robust light confinement, lasing, modulation, and disorder-tolerant optical devices. Among their underlying band features, band crossings are of particular interest because they represent critical degeneracies associated with topological phase transitions in periodic media. However, although band crossings in one-dimensional topological photonics have been extensively studied, a unified theoretical criterion for their occurrence remains unclear. In this work, a unified phase criterion for band crossings that applies to both TE and TM polarizations from normal to oblique incidence was derived based on transfer-matrix method and Bloch theory. Notably, for TM polarization, besides the generic band crossings satisfying the integer-phase criterion, the Brewster condition enables additional crossings without the phase constraint, forming a straight trajectory in momentum space. These results establish a direct connection between classical interface optics and band-crossing formation in periodic media, and provide a unified framework for understanding and engineering band crossings in layered photonic structures. These findings provide design guidelines for multilayer photonic devices: Brewster-angle transmission improves fabrication tolerance, whereas polarization-independent band crossings enable robust polarization-insensitive optical responses.
SN - 2192-8606
SN - 2192-8614
ER -