Investigation of edge states variation in valley photonic crystals by modulating the refractive index of domain walls

Abstract

Realizing the valley Hall effect by breaking the spatial inversion symmetry of photonic systems has become a cutting-edge field of micro-nano-optics, since the valley degree of freedom was introduced into photonic system. Various novel devices based on the domain walls of the valley photonic crystals have also been demonstrated. In this article, we investigate the variation of edge states by the modulation of refractive index within the domain walls, and the geometric difference between the dielectric columns of the sublattices. Straight photonic crystal waveguides with three types of domain walls (bearded, zigzag, armchair) are constructed. Simulation results show that the creation of a double-edge state in the band diagram results in two windows of stable transmission in tunable bands. Our findings might have significant implications in the field of novel optical devices.

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