Topological Photonic Phase in Chiral Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Understand

Recently the possibility of achieving one-way backscatter immune transportation of light by mimicking the topological order present within certain solid state systems, such as topological insulators, has received much attention.

• Thus far however, demonstrations of non-trivial topology in photonics have relied on photonic crystals with precisely engineered lattice structures, periodic on the scale of the operational wavelength and composed of finely tuned, complex materials.
• Here we propose a novel effective medium approach towards achieving topologically protected photonic surface states robust against disorder on all length scales and for a wide range of material parameters.
• Remarkably, the non-trivial topology of our metamaterial design results from the Berry curvature arising from the transversality of electromagnetic waves in a homogeneous medium.