Topological Edge States Enable Step-like Power Transfer for Robust Arbitrary-Ratio Power Splitting
Abstract
Topological edge states offer a robust route to photonic devices and systems that remain functional despite structural imperfections. Topological waveguide arrays have been shown to deliver robust coupling, but only for full power transfer between the two edge waveguides---a robust route to an arbitrary intermediate ratio has remained unknown. Here we show that the topological edge states of a finite Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain, realized with only four identical waveguides, form an arbitrary-ratio power splitter whose ratio is robust to both the device length and fabrication errors. Two near-degenerate edge supermodes beat to produce a step-like power transfer with a flat, length-insensitive plateau, in contrast to the sinusoidal transfer of a conventional directional coupler. The splitting ratio at this plateau is governed by the difference between the two waveguide gaps, making it immune to correlated fabrication offsets. We derive this behavior analytically and confirm it numerically and experimentally on a conventional silicon-on-insulator platform. Beyond this device, our analysis can be applied to general topological waveguide arrays, while the robust splitter offers a practical building block for fabrication-tolerant photonic circuits.
Related
- Photon production from gluon splitting and fusion induced by a magnetic field of arbitrary strength in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
- Topological Splitting of Sondheimer Oscillations in Thin-Film Weyl Semimetals
- Anisotropic Surface State Band Splitting and Low Energy Flat Bands in 3d Correlated Topological Kondo Insulator Candidate FeSb2
- Generation of arbitrary quantum states in cavity-atom systems with a three-level ancilla
- Mentor-Initiated Asymmetric Bidirectional Quantum Teleportation Protocol for Arbitrary Qubit States
BibTeX
@misc{you2026topological,
title = {{Topological Edge States Enable Step-like Power Transfer for Robust Arbitrary-Ratio Power Splitting}},
author = {Jihwan You and Jibaek Song and Seungyong Lee and Sangsik Kim},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25493},
eprint = {2609.25493},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25493},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Topological Edge States Enable Step-like Power Transfer for Robust Arbitrary-Ratio Power Splitting
AU - Jihwan You
AU - Jibaek Song
AU - Seungyong Lee
AU - Sangsik Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25493
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25493
AB - Topological edge states offer a robust route to photonic devices and systems that remain functional despite structural imperfections. Topological waveguide arrays have been shown to deliver robust coupling, but only for full power transfer between the two edge waveguides---a robust route to an arbitrary intermediate ratio has remained unknown. Here we show that the topological edge states of a finite Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain, realized with only four identical waveguides, form an arbitrary-ratio power splitter whose ratio is robust to both the device length and fabrication errors. Two near-degenerate edge supermodes beat to produce a step-like power transfer with a flat, length-insensitive plateau, in contrast to the sinusoidal transfer of a conventional directional coupler. The splitting ratio at this plateau is governed by the difference between the two waveguide gaps, making it immune to correlated fabrication offsets. We derive this behavior analytically and confirm it numerically and experimentally on a conventional silicon-on-insulator platform. Beyond this device, our analysis can be applied to general topological waveguide arrays, while the robust splitter offers a practical building block for fabrication-tolerant photonic circuits.
ER -