Topological photonics has promised new devices that are resistant to backscattering, leading to lower loss, greater nonlinearity, and smaller footprint. New research shows that in reciprocal photonic crystals, backscattering is unavoidable, implying that breaking reciprocity is essential to leveraging photonic Chern insulators.
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Rechtsman, M.C. Reciprocal topological photonic crystals allow backscattering. Nat. Photon. 17, 383–384 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01199-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01199-9