Transition from quasi-unidirectional to unidirectional guided resonances in leaky-mode photonic lattices

Abstract: Unidirectional light emission from planar photonic structures is highly advantageous for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. Recently, it has been demonstrated that unidirectional guided resonances (UGRs) can be realized by utilizing topological polarization singularities in momentum space. However, the practical application of these topological unidirectional emitters has been limited due to their intricate geometric configurations, requiring special efforts with high-cost fabrication processes. In this study, we show that unidirectional light emission can be achieved in conventional one-dimensional zero-contrast gratings (ZCGs), which can be easily fabricated using current nanofabrication technologies. In ZCGs, the interband coupling between even-like and odd-like waveguide modes leads to the formation of quasi-UGRs, characterized by significantly higher decay rates in either the upward or downward direction compared to the opposite direction. We demonstrate that these quasi-UGRs evolve into genuine UGRs with an gradual increase in grating thickness. Moreover, the emission direction of UGRs can be selectively steered either upward or downward by adjusting the lattice parameters. In addition to quasi-UGRs and UGRs, our study also reveals additional topological phenomena in ZCGs, including exceptional points and quasi-BICs.