Hannover 2013 – wissenschaftliches Programm

Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe

Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 63: Photonics IV

Q 63.7: Vortrag

Freitag, 22. März 2013, 15:30–15:45, F 128

Anderson localization in optically induced photonic random structures — •Sebastian Brake, Martin Boguslawski, Patrick Rose, and Cornelia Denz — Institut für Angewandte Physik and Center for Nonlinear Science (CeNoS), Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany

Anderson localization is one of the most intriguing effects in solid state physics where an electron may be localized in dependence on the disorder of the surrounding crystal lattice. Since the effect is based on wave phenomena, Anderson localization has recently been discovered for light waves in several systems as e.g. random granular media.

In this contribution, we demonstrate light localization in optically induced two-dimensional photonic random lattice structures. Using the so-called optical induction technique, we are able to create reconfigurable refractive index patterns in a nonlinear optical medium. In contrast to previous realizations, our approach is based on a computer-controlled spatial light modulator that is used to generate structured nondiffracting beams with a tremendous flexibility. This class of beams that provides complex transverse intensity structures while being invariant in the direction of propagation is the foundation of our flexible approach for the generation of complex random structures.

We report our results on the experimental observation of Anderson localization in these structures and show how the localization can be controlled. We find that the localization length depends both on the strength of the refractive index modulation as well as on the structural size of the induced photonic random structure.