A complete photoluminescence polarization palette from a photonic-crystal slab

Integrated light sources with tailored polarization are essential for integrated photonics, optical communication, sensing, and structured-light applications. However, generating a broad set of polarization states from spontaneous emission usually relies on structures with broken mirror, rotational, or inversion symmetries, or on emitters with predefined polarization properties. Here, we demonstrate a complete photoluminescence polarization palette in a single achiral photonic-crystal slab with a hexagonal lattice of holes and embedded self-assembled Ge(Si) nanoislands. We show that the polarization of the emitted light is governed by the interplay among modes with different symmetries rather than by the properties of unpolarized emitters. Along the high-symmetry directions of the Brillouin zone, symmetry enforces purely linear emission and enables direct polarization-based classification of the photonic-crystal modes. Away from these directions, all Stokes parameters become non-zero, providing full-Stokes control of photoluminescence and highly polarized emission. We further demonstrate polarization vortices associated with symmetry-protected and Friedrich-Wintgen bound states in the continuum, as well as radiating polarization singularities not associated with bound states in the continuum. Through appropriate geometric optimization, the same platform supports photoluminescence with a full polarization palette as well as polarization vortices. Our results establish achiral photonic-crystal slabs as monolithic sources of symmetry-programmable photoluminescence polarization.