Το work with title Boosting topological zero modes using elastomer waveguide arrays by Frank Angelina, Leykam Daniel, Smirnova Daria A., Angelakis Dimitrios, Ling Alexander is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Bibliographic Citation
A. Frank, D. Leykam, D. A. Smirnova, D. G. Angelakis and A. Ling, “Boosting topological zero modes using elastomer waveguide arrays,” Opt. Lett., vol. 47, no. 18, pp. 4620-4623, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.1364/ol.469657.
https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.469657
We employ the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model in elastic polymer waveguide arrays to design and realize traveling topologically protected modes. The observed delocalization of the optical field for superluminal defect velocities agrees well with theoretical descriptions. We apply mechanical strain to modulate the lattices’ coupling coefficient. This work demonstrates a novel, to the best of our knowledge, platform for rapid prototyping of topological photonic devices and establishes strain-tuning as a viable design parameter for topological waveguide arrays.