Topologically protected Mach-Zehnder interferometer

Yang, P., Jiang, P., Guo, X. and Hou, L. (2020) Topologically protected Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Journal of Optics, 22(10), 105001. (doi: 10.1088/2040-8986/abac20)

Abstract

As photonic integration continues to evolve, compact and low loss Mach–Zehnder interferometers (MZI) have been an area of significant research in recent years. Here, we propose a valley-Hall effect based topologically protected Mach–Zehnder interferometer (TPMZI). Our simulations show that the TPMZI is efficient and stable even in complex situations. Sharp waveguide bending and defects such as obstructions and epitaxial disorders, do not affect the propagation of photons along the interface, which guarantees the TPMZI high output power. In addition, the TPMZI yields excellent sensitivity, extinction ratio and modulation depths, making it advantageous over existing systems when applied to optical communication, biochemical sensing, spectrometer analysis and measurement systems, etc.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province, China (Grant No. 2019YJ0172).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hou, Dr Lianping
• Authors: Yang, P., Jiang, P., Guo, X., and Hou, L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: Journal of Optics
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• ISSN: 2040-8978
• ISSN (Online): 2040-8986
• Published Online: 04 August 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd
• First Published: First published in Journal of Optics 22(10): 105001
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy