Nontrivial band geometry in an optically active system.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33514702.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-20845-2 and PMC identifier 7846789.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Optical activity, also called circular birefringence, is known for two hundred years, but its applications for topological photonics remain unexplored. Unlike the Faraday effect, the optical activity provokes rotation of the linear polarization of light without magnetic effects, thus preserving the time-reversal symmetry. In this work, we report a direct measurement of the Berry curvature and quantum metric of the photonic modes of a planar cavity, containing a birefringent organic microcrystal (perylene) and exhibiting emergent optical activity. This experiment, performed at room temperature and at visible wavelength, establishes the potential of organic materials for implementing non-magnetic and low-cost topological photonic devices.