Cited by 610Laser Material Processing TechniquesPhotonic and Optical DevicesNonlinear Optical Materials Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 123 of the 123 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 8 of the 84 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Discrete optics in femtosecond-laser-written photonic structures

Open access
Szameit, Alexander, Nolte, Stefan·2010·Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics

Abstract

Over the last few years arrays of evanescently coupled waveguides have been brought into focus as a particular representation of functionalized optical materials, in which the dispersion and diffraction of propagating light can be specifically tuned. Moreover, it turns out that the light evolution in these systems shares fundamental similarities to the quantum evolution of particle wavefunctions, so that waveguide arrays can act as a model system for emulating quantum mechanics. Recently, a novel technique was developed with which waveguides can be directly 'written' into various optical bulk materials using femtosecond laser pulses, which allows for the realization of a variety of innovative concepts which are not feasible using other fabrication methods. The aim of this tutorial is to give an introduction to this topic.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This tutorial/review explains how femtosecond-laser-written waveguide arrays in fused silica act as discrete optical systems that can emulate quantum lattice dynamics. It surveys fabrication, linear discrete effects such as Bloch oscillations and dynamic localization, and nonlinear discrete solitons.

Key findings

  • Femtosecond direct writing produces permanent, homogeneous, arbitrarily shaped 1D and 2D coupled waveguide arrays; writing velocity tunes the refractive-index change and evanescent coupling, enabling artificial defects and interfaces. Representative fabrication parameters include 100 kHz, 800 nm, 20×/0.45 NA, about 150 fs, and 0.3 μJ, with losses around 0.4 dB cm⁻¹.
  • Linear discrete optics demonstrations include Bloch oscillations in curved arrays with R = 1.9 m, a 75 mm period, and about a 30-waveguide shift at d = 11 μm; Bloch-Zener dynamics in binary arrays with detuning σ = 0.22c and 0.41c giving tunneling rates of about 65% and 25%; and dynamic localization at 633 nm with d = 14 μm, z₀ = 25 mm, and A₀ = 47.5 μm, collapsing after 25 mm. Polychromatic dynamic localization is reported across 450–700 nm.
  • Segmentation with a π phase shift in every second waveguide restores arbitrary 1D and 2D input patterns; a 1D example used L = 50 mm, d = 16 μm, λ = 633 nm, segmentation period 26 μm, and s = 2.6 mm, while a 2D example used d = 20 μm.
  • Nonlinear discrete solitons form at high peak powers: a 1D soliton in a 74.5 mm, nine-waveguide, 48 μm-spaced sample localized at P_peak = 1000 kW, with an intermediate state at 500 kW; a 2D 7×7, 105 mm, 40 μm-spaced lattice formed a soliton at 2000 kW; surface/corner solitons required 4800 kW, and an interface soliton formed at 3.2 MW. The effective nonlinear refractive index can drop to 0.25 of the bulk value at lower writing velocities.

Methods

  • This is a tutorial/review that synthesizes prior theory and experiments rather than presenting one new primary dataset.
  • Fabrication and characterization are described for fused-silica samples written with a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser, typically at 100 kHz, 800 nm, 20×/0.45 NA, about 150 fs, and 0.3 μJ; fluorescence microscopy with Suprasil 311 and a 633 nm HeNe laser, plus near-field inverse-Helmholtz reconstruction, are used to observe propagation and index profiles.
  • The main analysis uses coupled-mode equations with nearest-neighbor coupling, Floquet-Bloch band structure, and numerical integration compared with fluorescence images.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the coupled-mode approach is a paraxial approximation valid only in the first propagation band, and that dynamic localization is exact only for nearest-neighbor coupling; higher-order coupling of about 3% and array imperfections prevent perfect refocusing.
  • The paper states that self-imaging by modifying coupling constants requires precision not currently viable, and that the examples are restricted to fused silica, with extension to other materials such as LiNbO₃ left as future work.
  • Evident from the text: nonlinear experiments require high peak powers and are constrained by sample damage thresholds and propagation losses around 0.4 dB cm⁻¹, and 2D solitons need higher power than 1D solitons.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1088/0953-4075/43/16/163001

Cites

123 of 123 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

69 No basis given · 47 No full text of the sources · 40 Own interpretation · 38 Own result · 8 Own method · 3 Supported · 3 Supported so far · 3 Not checked yet · 2 Partly supported · 1 Sources not found · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 121 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 20
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 74
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 5
93 of 93
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    In the coupled mode description, the transverse shape of the modes in individual guides remains constant, so only the amplitudes evolve.

    “the transverse shape of the modes in the individual guides is assumed to remain constant, so that only the amplitudes evolve.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Only coupling to the nearest lattice sites is considered because interaction between waveguides drops exponentially with increasing spacing.

    “only coupling to the nearest lattice sites is taken into account.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    For reconstructing the refractive index from near-field distributions, the effective index is taken to equal the bulk index.

    “using the assumption n eff = n bulk”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The bending of the waveguides is much smaller than the waveguide spacing.

    “Assuming the bending to be much smaller than the waveguide spacing d”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A two-dimensional square waveguide lattice can be described as a superposition of horizontal and vertical one-dimensional lattices.

    “it can be described by the superposition of horizontal and vertical 1D lattices”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Coupling between waveguides along the diagonal in the two-dimensional square lattice is negligible.

    “as long as the impact of coupling between waveguides along the diagonal is negligible”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    In a finite waveguide lattice, the influence of the boundary on the propagation of the mode can be neglected.

    “when the influence of the boundary on the propagation of the mode can be neglected”
7 of 7

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Show all 108 references

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Yariv A, 1991, Optical Electronics
  2. Itoh K, 2006, MRS Bull., 31, 620, 10.1557/mrs2006.159 · DOI · Paper page
  3. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.023901 · DOI · Paper page
  4. Frenkel J, 1939, J. Phys. (USSR), 1, 137
  5. 10.1038/nature01452 · DOI · Paper page

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Metadata

Authors
Szameit, A., & Nolte, S.
Affiliations
  • Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
  • Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
Venue
Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Published
2010-07-23
Volume
43
Issue
16
Pages
163001
ISSN
  • 0953-4075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1361-6455
OpenAlex
W2038985364
Cited by
610
References
108
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 33
FWCI
25.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
  • Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Laser Material Processing Techniques
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Photonic and Optical Devices
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials › Nonlinear Optical Materials Studies
Keywords
femtosecond laser direct writing, waveguide arrays, evanescently coupled waveguides, photonic structures, quantum-classical analogy, waveguide dispersion, diffraction

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