Light deflection and modulation through dynamic evolution of photoinduced waveguides

Germano Montemezzani (1) , Mohammed Gorram (1) , Nicolas Fressengeas (1) , Flurin Juvalta (2) , Mojca Jazbinsek (2) , Peter Gunter (2)

1 LMOPS - Laboratoire Matériaux Optiques, Photonique et Systèmes
2 Nonlinear Optics Laboratory

Light induced waveguides produced by lateral illumination of a photorefractive crystal show a complex dynamic evolution upon removal of the sustaining applied electric field. Using this effect, deflection and modulation of the guided light is realized by taking advantage of the screening and counter-screening of the space charge distribution. The spot separation upon deflection can exceed 10 times the original waveguide width. Numerical simulations of the refractive index evolution and beam propagation show a good agreement with the observations.

Domaines: Optique [physics.optics]

Germano Montemezzani, Mohammed Gorram, Nicolas Fressengeas, Flurin Juvalta, Mojca Jazbinsek, et al.. Light deflection and modulation through dynamic evolution of photoinduced waveguides. Optics Express, 2008, 16 (21), pp.16646-16658. ⟨10.1364/OE.16.016646⟩. ⟨hal-00322549⟩