Exceptional mode topological surface laser

Abstract

Band topology has been studied as a design principle of realizing robust boundary modes. Here, by exploring non-Hermitian topology, we propose a three-dimensional topological laser that amplifies surface modes. The topological surface laser is protected by nontrivial topology around branchpoint singularities known as exceptional points. In contrast to two-dimensional topological lasers, the proposed three-dimensional setup can realize topological boundary modes without judicious gain at the edge or symmetry protection, which are thus robust against a broad range of disorders. We also propose a possible optical setup to experimentally realize the topological surface laser. Our results provide a general guiding principle to construct non-Hermitian topological devices in three-dimensional systems.