Higher-order topological states in T-graphene and their realization in photonic crystals

Abstract Higher-order topological states extend the power of nontrivial topological states beyond the bulk-edge correspondence. Here we study the higher-order topological states (corner states) in an open-boundary two-dimensional T-graphene lattice. Unlike the common zero-energy corner states, our findings reveal non-zero energy corner states in such lattice systems, and the energy could be controlled by modifying the hopping parameters. Moreover, the corner states could be transferred away from the lattice corners by designing the position-specific vacancy defects. The strong robustness of the corner states is also demonstrated against the uniaxial strain and vacancy defects, respectively. A plasmonic crystal is constructed to testify to the theory, in which the corner states are realized in optical modes and their higher-order topological properties are verified. Our results open the avenue of corner-states engineering, which holds significant physical implications of higher-order topological states for the design of photonic and electronic devices with specialized functionalities.