Nonreciprocal lasing in topological cavities of arbitrary geometries

Resonant cavities are essential building blocks governing many wave-based phenomena, but their geometry and reciprocity fundamentally limit the integration of optical devices. We report, at telecommunication wavelengths, geometry-independent and integrated nonreciprocal topological cavities that couple stimulated emission from one-way photonic edge states to a selected waveguide output with an isolation ratio in excess of 10 decibels. Nonreciprocity originates from unidirectional edge states at the boundary between photonic structures with distinct topological invariants. Our experimental demonstration of lasing from topological cavities provides the opportunity to develop complex topological circuitry of arbitrary geometries for the integrated and robust generation and transport of photons in classical and quantum regimes.

谐振腔是控制许多基于波的现象的基本构建模块，但其几何形状和互易性从根本上限制了光学器件的集成。我们在电信波长下报道了与几何形状无关且集成的非互易拓扑腔，它将单向光子边缘态的受激辐射耦合到选定的波导输出，隔离比超过10分贝。非互易性源于具有不同拓扑不变量的光子结构之间边界处的单向边缘态。我们对拓扑腔激光的实验演示为开发任意几何形状的复杂拓扑电路提供了机会，以便在经典和量子领域中集成且稳健地产生和传输光子。