Guiding light through optical bound states in the continuum for ultrahigh‐Q microresonators

Abstract Light is usually confined in photonic structures with a band gap or relatively high refractive index for broad scientific and technical applications. Here, a light confinement mechanism is proposed based on the photonic bound state in the continuum (BIC). In a low‐refractive‐index waveguide on a high‐refractive‐index thin membrane, optical dissipation is forbidden because of the destructive interference of various leakage channels. The BIC‐based low‐mode‐area waveguide and high‐ Q microresonator can be used to enhance light–matter interaction for laser, nonlinear optical and quantum optical applications. For example, a polymer structure on a diamond membrane shows excellent optical performance that can be achieved with large fabrication tolerance. It can induce strong coupling between photons and the nitrogen–vacancy center in diamond for scalable quantum information processors and networks. image