Plasma photonic crystal ‘kaleidoscope’ with flexible control of topology and electromagnetism

Continuous development of photonic crystals (PCs) over the last 30 years has carved out many new scientific frontiers. However, creating tunable PCs that enable flexible control of geometric configurations remains a challenge. Here we present a scheme to produce a tunable plasma photonic crystal (PPC) ‘kaleidoscope’ with rich diversity of structural configurations in dielectric barrier discharge. Multi-freedom control of the PPCs, including the symmetry, dielectric constant, crystal orientation, lattice constant, topological state, and structures of scattering elements, has been realized. Four types of lattice reconfigurations are demonstrated, including transitions from periodic to periodic, disordered to ordered, non-topological to topological, and striped to honeycomb Moiré lattices. Furthermore, alterations in photonic band structures corresponding to the reconstruction of various PPCs have been investigated. Our system presents a promising platform for generating a PPC ‘kaleidoscope’, offering benefits such as reduced equipment requirements, low cost, rapid response, and enhanced flexibility. This development opens up new opportunities for both fundamental and applied research. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)