Bending light around tight corners without backscattering losses

Engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a device that can direct photons of light around sharp corners with virtually no losses due to backscattering, a key property that will be needed if electronics are ever to be replaced with light-based devices.

The result was achieved with photonic crystals built on the concept of topological insulators, which won its discoverers a Nobel Prize in 2016. By carefully controlling the geometry of a crystal lattice, researchers can prevent light traveling through its interior while transmitting it perfectly along its surface.

Through these concepts, the device accomplishes its near-perfect transmittance around corners despite being much smaller than previous designs.