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Topological insulators (TIs) have attracted significant attention in photonics and acoustics due to their unique physical properties and promising applications. Electronics has recently emerged as an exciting arena to study various topological phenomena because of its advantages in building complex topological structures. Here, we explore TIs on an integrated circuit (IC) platform with a standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. Based on the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model, we design a fully integrated topological circuit chain using multiple capacitively-coupled inductor–capacitor resonators. We perform comprehensive post-layout simulations on its physical layout to observe and evaluate the salient topological features. Our results demonstrate the existence of the topological edge state and the remarkable robustness of the edge state against various defects. Our work shows the feasibility and promise of studying TIs with IC technology, paving the way for future explorations of large-scale topological electronics on the scalable IC platform.

 

Harnessing parity–time symmetry with balanced gain and loss profiles has created a variety of opportunities in electronics from wireless energy transfer to telemetry sensing and topological defect engineering. However, existing implementations often employ ad hoc approaches at low operating frequencies and are unable to accommodate large-scale integration. Here we report a fully integrated realization of parity–time symmetry in a standard complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor process technology. Our work demonstrates salient parity–time symmetry features such as phase transition as well as the ability to manipulate broadband microwave generation and propagation beyond the limitations encountered by existing schemes. The system shows 2.1 times the bandwidth and 30% noise reduction compared to conventional microwave generation in the oscillatory mode, and displays large non-reciprocal microwave transport from 2.75 to 3.10 GHz in the non-oscillatory mode due to enhanced nonlinearities. This approach could enrich integrated circuit design methodology beyond well-established performance limits and enable the use of scalable integrated circuit technology to study topological effects in high-dimensional non-Hermitian systems.

 

Halide perovskites, such as methylammonium lead halide perovskites (${\mathrm{MAPbX}}_3$,$\mathrm{X}=\mathrm{I}$, Br, and Cl), are emerging as promising candidates for a wide range of optoelectronic applications, including solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and photodetectors, due to their superior optoelectronic properties. All-inorganic lead halide perovskites${\mathrm{CsPbX}}_3$are attracting a lot of attention because replacing the organic cations with${\mathrm{Cs}}^{+}$enhances the stability, and its halide-mixing derivatives offer broad bandgap tunability covering nearly the entire visible spectrum. However, there is evidence suggesting that the optical properties of mixed-halide perovskites are influenced by phase segregation under external stimuli, especially illumination, which may negatively impact the performance of optoelectronic devices. It is reported that the mixed-halide perovskites in forms of thin films and nanocrystals are segregated into a low-bandgap I-rich phase and a high-bandgap Br-rich phase. Herein, we present a critical review on the synthesis and basic properties of all-inorganic perovskites, phase-segregation phenomena, plausible mechanisms, and methods to mitigate phase segregation, providing insights on advancing mixed-halide perovskite optoelectronics with reliable performance.

 

Synthetic photonic materials created by engineering the profile of refractive index or gain/loss distribution, such as negative-index metamaterials or parity-time-symmetric structures, can exhibit electric and magnetic properties that cannot be found in natural materials, allowing for photonic devices with unprecedented functionalities. In this article, we discuss two directions along this line—non-Hermitian photonics and topological photonics—and their applications in nonreciprocal light transport when nonlinearities are introduced. Both types of synthetic structures have been demonstrated in systems involving judicious arrangement of optical elements, such as optical waveguides and resonators. They can exhibit a transition between different phases by adjusting certain parameters, such as the distribution of refractive index, loss, or gain. The unique features of such synthetic structures help realize nonreciprocal optical devices with high contrast, low operation threshold, and broad bandwidth. They provide promising opportunities to realize nonreciprocal structures for wave transport.