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Localization and delocalization of light in photonic moiré lattices

Author

Listed:
  • Peng Wang

    (Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

  • Yuanlin Zheng

    (Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

  • Xianfeng Chen

    (Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

  • Changming Huang

    (Changzhi University)

  • Yaroslav V. Kartashov

    (The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
    Russian Academy of Sciences)

  • Lluis Torner

    (The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
    Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya)

  • Vladimir V. Konotop

    (Universidade de Lisboa)

  • Fangwei Ye

    (Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

Abstract

Moiré lattices consist of two superimposed identical periodic structures with a relative rotation angle. Moiré lattices have several applications in everyday life, including artistic design, the textile industry, architecture, image processing, metrology and interferometry. For scientific studies, they have been produced using coupled graphene–hexagonal boron nitride monolayers1,2, graphene–graphene layers3,4 and graphene quasicrystals on a silicon carbide surface5. The recent surge of interest in moiré lattices arises from the possibility of exploring many salient physical phenomena in such systems; examples include commensurable–incommensurable transitions and topological defects2, the emergence of insulating states owing to band flattening3,6, unconventional superconductivity4 controlled by the rotation angle7,8, the quantum Hall effect9, the realization of non-Abelian gauge potentials10 and the appearance of quasicrystals at special rotation angles11. A fundamental question that remains unexplored concerns the evolution of waves in the potentials defined by moiré lattices. Here we experimentally create two-dimensional photonic moiré lattices, which—unlike their material counterparts—have readily controllable parameters and symmetry, allowing us to explore transitions between structures with fundamentally different geometries (periodic, general aperiodic and quasicrystal). We observe localization of light in deterministic linear lattices that is based on flat-band physics6, in contrast to previous schemes based on light diffusion in optical quasicrystals12, where disorder is required13 for the onset of Anderson localization14 (that is, wave localization in random media). Using commensurable and incommensurable moiré patterns, we experimentally demonstrate the two-dimensional localization–delocalization transition of light. Moiré lattices may feature an almost arbitrary geometry that is consistent with the crystallographic symmetry groups of the sublattices, and therefore afford a powerful tool for controlling the properties of light patterns and exploring the physics of periodic–aperiodic phase transitions and two-dimensional wavepacket phenomena relevant to several areas of science, including optics, acoustics, condensed matter and atomic physics.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng Wang & Yuanlin Zheng & Xianfeng Chen & Changming Huang & Yaroslav V. Kartashov & Lluis Torner & Vladimir V. Konotop & Fangwei Ye, 2020. "Localization and delocalization of light in photonic moiré lattices," Nature, Nature, vol. 577(7788), pages 42-46, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:577:y:2020:i:7788:d:10.1038_s41586-019-1851-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1851-6
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Guoqiang Xu & Xue Zhou & Shuihua Yang & Jing Wu & Cheng-Wei Qiu, 2023. "Observation of bulk quadrupole in topological heat transport," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Wang, Qing & Zhou, Liangliang & Zhu, Junying & He, Jun-Rong, 2024. "Multi-vortex beams in nonlinear media with harmonic potential wells," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    3. Liu, Xiuye & Zeng, Jianhua, 2023. "Matter-wave gap solitons and vortices of dense Bose–Einstein condensates in Moiré optical lattices," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    4. Li, Jiawei & Zhang, Yanpeng & Zeng, Jianhua, 2022. "Dark gap solitons in one-dimensional nonlinear periodic media with fourth-order dispersion," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Chen, Junbo & Zeng, Jianhua, 2021. "Dark matter-wave gap solitons of Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in optical lattices with competing cubic-quintic nonlinearities," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Bai, Xiaoqin & Bai, Juan & Malomed, Boris A. & Yang, Rongcao, 2024. "Spectrum conversion and pattern preservation of Airy beams in fractional systems with a dynamical harmonic-oscillator potential," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    7. Tiancheng Zhang & Kaichen Dong & Jiachen Li & Fanhao Meng & Jingang Li & Sai Munagavalasa & Costas P. Grigoropoulos & Junqiao Wu & Jie Yao, 2023. "Twisted moiré photonic crystal enabled optical vortex generation through bound states in the continuum," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    8. Peng Wang & Qidong Fu & Ruihan Peng & Yaroslav V. Kartashov & Lluis Torner & Vladimir V. Konotop & Fangwei Ye, 2022. "Two-dimensional Thouless pumping of light in photonic moiré lattices," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    9. Xu, Si-Liu & Zhu, Min & Peng, Jia-Xin & Fan, Xi & Huang, Qi-Hong & Hua, Chun-Bo & Zhao, Yuan, 2023. "Light bullets in a nonlocal Rydberg medium with PT-symmetric moiré optical lattices," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    10. Liu, Xianglian & Li, Xiaoqiong & Li, Kaizhou & Zhou, Jie & Shi, Yuan & Chen, Jingdong, 2023. "Coexistence of Fano and electromagnetically induced transparency resonance line shapes in photonic topological insulators," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    11. Haoyu Qin & Shaohu Chen & Weixuan Zhang & Huizhen Zhang & Ruhao Pan & Junjie Li & Lei Shi & Jian Zi & Xiangdong Zhang, 2024. "Optical moiré bound states in the continuum," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    12. Liu, Xiuye & Zeng, Jianhua, 2022. "Overcoming the snaking instability and nucleation of dark solitons in nonlinear Kerr media by spatially inhomogeneous defocusing nonlinearity," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    13. Chen, Zhiming & Wu, Zexing & Zeng, Jianhua, 2023. "Light gap bullets in defocusing media with optical lattices," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    14. Eric Cereceda-López & Alexander P. Antonov & Artem Ryabov & Philipp Maass & Pietro Tierno, 2023. "Overcrowding induces fast colloidal solitons in a slowly rotating potential landscape," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    15. Hanyu Wang & Wei Xu & Zeyong Wei & Yiyuan Wang & Zhanshan Wang & Xinbin Cheng & Qinghua Guo & Jinhui Shi & Zhihong Zhu & Biao Yang, 2024. "Twisted photonic Weyl meta-crystals and aperiodic Fermi arc scattering," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

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