Decoupled-Subspace-Induced Flat Bands in a Photonic Superlattice
Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 026902 – Published 8 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9hkk-chws
Abstract
Flat bands in photonic systems enable strong light confinement and enhanced light-matter interactions, yet realizing flat dispersion across an entire Brillouin zone (BZ) remains nontrivial. Here, we propose a practical mechanism for generating BZ-spanning flat bands through the coupling between propagating modes and localized resonances. When , the finite-channel model necessarily supports exact flat bands that originate from an effectively decoupled subspace. As a representative example, we implement this mechanism in a plasmonic superlattice, where multiple localized resonances hybridize with surface plasmon polaritons. Angle-resolved reflection measurements directly reveal a quasi-flat band extending across the BZ, in excellent agreement with full-wave simulations. The suppressed group velocity further enlarges the momentum-space separation of quasi-bound-state-in-the-continuum-induced exceptional-point pairs, enabling their experimental observation in a plasmonic platform. Our results establish a practical design strategy for engineering flat bands and non-Hermitian degeneracies, which can be extended to dielectric and hybrid systems across a wide spectral range under appropriate conditions, opening new opportunities for compact photonic devices with enhanced functionality.