A quasi-bound band in the continuum in a photonic slab

Abstract: Bound states in the continuum (BIC) are localized waves in electronic, photonic and acoustic systems, which remain decoupled from surrounding propagating waves and hence maintain their oscillation for extraordinary long time [Nat Rev Mater 1, 16048 (2016)]. In photonic crystals, symmetry-protected quasi-BICs (SP-qBIC) have been realized at high symmetry points of the Brillouin zone and utilized in photonic crystal and distributed feedback lasers. In the present work, we measure wavevector-resolved photoluminescence (PL) of monolayer WSe2 weakly coupled to a photonic slab, consisting of a square array of aluminum nanodisks. The results show that the slab supports a continuous band of symmetry-protected quasi-bound states along the Gamma-X direction, extending from the previously reported SP-qBIC at the Gamma point. The spectral width of this quasi-bound band in the continuum remains narrow through at least a half of the Brillouin zone, indicating its long lifetime.