1Huazhong University of Science and Technology, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan, China
2The Chinese University of Hong Kong, School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen, China
3CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, Nanofabrication Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory for Nanosystems and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Key Laboratory for Nanophotonic Materials and Devices, Beijing, China
4National University of Singapore, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Singapore
5University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, Beijing, China
6The University of Hong Kong, Department of Physics, Hong Kong, China
7Peking University, School of Physics, State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics, Beijing, China
Topological edge states (TESs), arising from topologically nontrivial phases, provide a powerful toolkit for the architecture design of photonic integrated circuits, since they are highly robust and strongly localized at the boundaries of topological insulators. It is highly desirable to be able to control TES transport in photonic implementations. Enhancing the coupling between the TESs in a finite-size optical lattice is capable of exchanging light energy between the boundaries of a topological lattice, hence facilitating the flexible control of TES transport. However, existing strategies have paid little attention to enhancing the coupling effects between the TESs through the finite-size effect. Here, we establish a bridge linking the interaction between the TESs in a finite-size optical lattice using the Landau–Zener model so as to provide an alternative way to modulate/control the transport of topological modes. We experimentally demonstrate an edge-to-edge topological transport with high efficiency at telecommunication wavelengths in silicon waveguide lattices. Our results may power up various potential applications for integrated topological photonics.