Quantum coherence is the central element of particle states, and it characterizes the overall performance of various quantum materials. Bloch oscillation is a fundamental coherent behavior of particles under a static potential, which can be easily destroyed by Zener tunneling in multiband 2D lattice materials. The control of Zener tunneling therefore plays the key role in quantum engineering for complicated physical systems. Here, the inhibition and reconstruction of Zener tunneling in photonic honeycomb lattices are experimentally demonstrated. Deformed honeycomb lattices are integrated and an effective static potential is realized on the 2D lattice materials. Zener tunneling disappears in stretch‐type lattices and wave packets stay in the dispersionless upper energy band. On the contrary, Zener tunneling is greatly enhanced in compression‐type lattices and wave packets exhibit directional oscillations without branches, which manifest the preserved coherence of the wave packets. The results demonstrate the protection of photonic coherence by structurally controlling the Zener tunneling, representing a step toward flexible quantum engineering for large‐scale artificial quantum materials.
Topology have prevailed in a variety of branches of physics. And topological defects in cosmology are speculated akin to dislocation or disclination in solids or liquid crystals. With the development of classical and quantum simulation, such speculative topological defects are well-emulated in a variety of condensed matter systems. Especially, the underlying theoretical foundations can be extensively applied to realize novel optical applications. Here, with the aid of transformation optics, we experimentally demonstrated bound vortex light on optical chips by simulating gauge fields of topological linear defects in cosmology through position-dependent coupling coefficients in a deformed photonic graphene. Furthermore, these types of photonic lattices inspired by topological linear defects can simultaneously generate and transport optical vortices, and even can control the orbital angular momentum of photons on integrated optical chips.
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