This study explores new platforms for realizing polariton Chern bands in 2D photonic crystals (PhCs) by moving beyond the traditional Dirac cone framework. It focuses on band structures with symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum and Γ-point degeneracies, enabling larger topological gaps, higher Chern numbers, and more uniform Berry curvature—features crucial for experiments and device applications.
Eigenvalue and Berry curvature calculations were performed using MATLAB and Mathematica, while Lumerical FDTD was used to simulate photonic and polaritonic band structures in realistic TMD-PhC systems, as well as edge-state dispersion. Reproducing the data requires access to these software tools.