Shape unrestricted topological corner state based on Kekulé modulation and enhanced nonlinear harmonic generation

Abstract

Abstract Topological corner states have been extensively utilized as a nanocavity to increase nonlinear harmonic generation due to their high Q-factor and robustness. However, the previous topological corner states based nanocavities and nonlinear harmonic generation have to comply with particular spatial symmetries of underlying lattices, hindering their practical application. In this work, we design a photonic nanocavity based on shape unrestricted topological corner state by applying Kekulé modulation to a honeycomb photonic crystal. The boundaries of such shape unrestricted topological corner state are liberated from running along specific lattice directions, thus topological corner states with arbitrary shapes and high Q-factor are excited. We demonstrate enhancement of second (SHG) and third harmonic generation (THG) from the topological corner states, which are also not influenced by the geometry shape of corner. The liberation from the shape restriction of corner state and nonlinear harmonic generation are robust to lattice defects. We believe that the shape unrestricted topological corner state may also find a way to improve other nonlinear optical progress, providing great flexibility for the development of photonic integrated devices.