Reflection-Free One-Way Edge Modes in a Gyromagnetic Photonic Crystal

We point out that electromagnetic one-way edge modes analogous to quantum Hall edge states, originally predicted by Raghu and Haldane in 2D photonic crystals possessing Dirac point-derived band gaps, can appear in more general settings. We show that the TM modes in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal can be formally mapped to electronic wave functions in a periodic electromagnetic field, so that the only requirement for the existence of one-way edge modes is that the Chern number for all bands below a gap is nonzero. In a square-lattice yttrium-iron-garnet crystal operating at microwave frequencies, which lacks Dirac points, time-reversal breaking is strong enough that the effect should be easily observable. For…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• DO
  Division of Materials Research
• AR
  Army Research Office

  Awards: W911NF-07-D-0004, W911NF