Topological insulator laser: Experiments

Physical systems exhibiting topological invariants are naturally endowed with robustness against perturbations, as manifested in topological insulators-materials exhibiting robust electron transport, immune from scattering by defects and disorder. Recent years have witnessed intense efforts toward exploiting these phenomena in photonics. Here we demonstrate a nonmagnetic topological insulator laser system exhibiting topologically protected transport in the cavity. Its topological properties give rise to single-mode lasing, robustness against defects, and considerably higher slope efficiencies compared to the topologically trivial counterparts. We further exploit the properties of active topological platforms by assembling the system from S-chiral microresonators, enforcing predetermined unidirectional lasing without magnetic fields. This work paves the way toward active topological devices with exciting properties and functionalities.