The studies of topological phases of matter have been developed from condensed matter physics to photonic systems, resulting in fascinating designs of robust photonic devices. Recently, higher-order topological insulators have been investigated as a novel topological phase of matter beyond the conventional bulk-boundary correspondence. Previous studies of higher-order topological insulators have been mainly focused on the topological multipole systems with negative coupling between lattice sites. Here we experimentally demonstrate that second-order topological insulating phases without negative coupling can be realized in two-dimensional dielectric photonic crystals. We visualize both one-dimensional topological edge states and zero-dimensional topological corner states by using the near-field scanning technique. Our findings open new research frontiers for photonic topological phases and provide a new mechanism for light manipulating in a hierarchical way.

The quantum spin Hall effect lays the foundation for the topologically protected manipulation of waves, but is restricted to one-dimensional-lower boundaries of systems and hence limits the diversity and integration of topological photonic devices. Recently, the conventional bulk-boundary correspondence of band topology has been extended to higher-order cases that enable explorations of topological states with codimensions larger than one such as hinge and corner states. Here, we demonstrate a higher-order quantum spin Hall effect in a two-dimensional photonic crystal. Owing to the non-trivial higher-order topology and the pseudospin-pseudospin coupling, we observe a directional localization of photons at corners with opposite pseudospin polarizations through pseudospin-momentum-locked edge waves, resembling the quantum spin Hall effect in a higher-order manner. Our work inspires an unprecedented route to transport and trap spinful waves, supporting potential applications in topological photonic devices such as spinful topological lasers and chiral quantum emitters.

Drawing inspiration from bilayer graphene, this paper introduces its photonic analog comprising two stacked graphenelike photonic crystals that are coupled in the near field through spoof surface plasmons. Beyond the twist degree of freedom that can radically alter the band structure of the bilayer photonic graphene, the photonic dispersion can be also tailored via the interlayer coupling which exhibits an exponential dependence on the distance between the two photonic crystals. We theoretically, numerically, and experimentally characterize the band structures of $\mathit{AA}$- and $\mathit{AB}$-stacked bilayer photonic graphene, as well as for twisted bilayer photonic graphene with even and odd sublattice exchange symmetries. Furthermore, we numerically predict the existence of magic angles in bilayer photonic graphene, which are associated with ultraflat bands resulting from interlayer hybridization. Finally, we demonstrate that the bilayer photonic graphene at a particular twist angle satisfying even sublattice exchange symmetry is a high-order photonic topological insulator. The proposed bilayer photonic graphene could constitute a useful platform for identifying new quantum materials and inspiring next-generation photonic devices with new degrees of freedom and emerging functionality.

The real-time, in-line analysis of light polarization is critical in optical networks, currently suffering from complex systems with numerous bulky opto-electro-mechanical elements tandemly arranged along the optical path. Here, we design and fabricate a fiber-integrated polarimeter by vertically stacking three photodetection units based on six-layer van der Waals materials, including one bismuth selenide (Bi ₂ Se ₃ ) layer for power calibration, two twisted black phosphorus (BP) layers for polarization detection, and three hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) layers for encapsulation. The self-power-calibrated, self-driven, and unambiguous detection of both linearly polarized (LP) and circularly polarized (CP) light is realized by the broken symmetry–induced linear photogalvanic effects (LPGEs) and circular photogalvanic effects (CPGEs) in the two BP units. Moreover, the device enables single-pixel polarimetric imaging to acquire spatial polarization information. The ultracompact device structure, free from external optical and mechanical modules, may inspire the development of miniaturized optical and optoelectronic systems.