Topological slow light via coupling chiral edge modes with flatbands

Abstract

Chiral edge modes in photonic topological insulators host great potential to realize slow-light waveguides with topological protection. Increasing the winding of the chiral edge mode around the Brillouin zone can lead to broadband topological slow light with ultra-low group velocity. However, this effect usually requires careful modifications on a relatively large area around the lattice edge. Here, we present a simple and general scheme to achieve broadband topological slow light through coupling the chiral edge modes with flatbands. In this approach, modifications inside the topological lattice are not required. Instead, only several additional resonators that support the flatbands need to be attached at the lattice edge. We demonstrate our idea numerically using a gyromagnetic photonic crystal, which is ready to be tested at microwave frequencies.