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While optical loss is conventionally perceived as a fundamental limit to be compensated, here we demonstrate a novel scheme by harnessing leakage-induced loss as a degree of freedom for mode manipulation. By coupling 2D hyperbolic polaritons (e.g., \u03b1-MoO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    ) with 3D bulk leaky channels (e.g., \u03b2-Ga\n                    <jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>\n                    O\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    ), we achieve a topological reconstruction into quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) polaritons over a broad frequency range. In the frequency domain, out-of-plane phonon-driven leakage in the substrate potently controls the propagation direction of quasi-1D polaritons, enabling continuous frequency-dependent rotation and culminating in an abrupt transition at the phonon resonance. In real space, the quasi-1D isofrequency contours enable on-chip reflectionless propagation across wide angles (&gt;170\u00b0) due to their extreme momentum-space collimation. This approach is further generalized to other 2D\/3D heterostructures (e.g., \u03b1-MoO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    \/CdWO\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    ), demonstrating operability across various discrete infrared spectral windows (total \u0394\u03bb\u2009~\u20097 \u03bcm). Our findings not only introduce a loss-engineering framework for precise polariton control but also open new possibilities for zero-reflection on-chip optical routing and advanced optical information processing.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-026-77412-4","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T14:46:00Z","timestamp":1788965160000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Loss-engineered reconfigurable polaritons"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Hongyi","family":"Yuan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaijun","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4422-1350","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oubo","family":"You","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yihan","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongxin","family":"Lan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shenghan","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuchuan","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4211-6995","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deng","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3928-2960","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhiwen","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6605-500X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cheng-Wei","family":"Qiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2492-8497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiangdong","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1750-0867","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qing","family":"Dai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"77412_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"aag1992","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aag1992","volume":"354","author":"DN Basov","year":"2016","unstructured":"Basov, D. 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