Wireless Power Transfer via Topological Modes in Dimer Chains

Topological characteristics, including invariant topological orders, band inversion, and the topological edge mode (TEM) in photonic insulators, have been widely studied. Whether intriguing topological modes can be taken advantage of in simple one-dimensional systems to implement some practical applications is an issue, which is of increasing concern. In this work, based on a photonic dimer chain composed of ultrasubwavelength resonators, we verify experimentally that the TEM in the effective second-order parity-time (PT) system is immune to the inner disorder perturbation, and can be used to realize the long-range wireless power transfer (WPT) with high transmission efficiency. To intuitively show the TEM can be used for WPT, a power signal source is used to excite the TEM. It can be clearly seen that two light-emitting diode (LED) lamps with 0.5 W at both ends of the structure are lit up with the aid of TEMs. In addition, in order to solve the special technical problems of standby power loss and frequency tracking, we further propose that a WPT system with effective third-order PT symmetry can be constructed by using one topological interface mode and two TEMs. Inspired by the long-range WPT with TEMs in this work, the use of more complex topological structures is expected to achieve energy transmission with more functions, such as the WPT devices whose direction can be selected flexibly in the quasiperiodic or trimer topological chains.

Automated summary

The study experimentally confirms that the topological edge mode (TEM) in a photonic dimer chain can be used for long-range wireless power transfer and is immune to internal perturbations. By exciting the TEM, LED lamps can be lit. Additionally, a wireless power transfer system with effective third-order PT symmetry can be constructed using a topological interface mode and two TEMs.