Dual-polarization two-dimensional valley photonic crystals

The recent realization of valley physics in photonic systems has enriched the topological phases of light with protected edge modes and shown applications in designing high-performance photonic devices. However, the widely reported valley Hall effect of light in two-dimensional systems is limited to one single polarization. Here, we present dual-polarization two-dimensional valley photonic crystals by simultaneously opening two frequency accidental degenerate Dirac cones. Two band gaps with different polarizations are characterized by opposite-valley Chern numbers, which are confirmed by the opposite-phase vortex distributions of bulk modes and opposite Berry curvatures. This situation results in the polarization-dependent refraction of bulk and edge modes, which locate in opposite valleys. The polarization-independent topological valley transport is also demonstrated. Our work shows the flexible control of light in topological photonic systems with a polarization degree of freedom and has applications in polarization multiplexing photonic devices.