Simultaneous confinement of acoustic phonons and near infrared photons in GaAs/AlAs multilayers by band inversion

Abstract

GaAs/AlAs heterostructures constitute a unique platform for the conception, engineering, and implementation of opto-phononic systems. In addition to all the accumulated know-how inherited from the optoelectronics industry, a unique coincidence in the contrasts of the optical and acoustic impedances, and the speeds of light and sound, enable a perfect colocalization of the optical electric and acoustic displacement fields. We present the design principles for GaAs/AlAs opto-phononic heterostructures supporting topological interface modes and further analyse the performance of these structures in the optical and the acoustic domain.