Self-trapping threshold in disordered nonlinear photonic lattices.

We investigate numerically and experimentally the influence of coupling disorder on the self-trapping dynamics in nonlinear one-dimensional optical waveguide arrays. The existence of a lower and upper bound of the effective average propagation constant allows for a generalized definition of the threshold power for the onset of soliton localization. When compared to perfectly ordered systems, this threshold is found to decrease in the presence of coupling disorder.

Nonlinear localized modes in Glauber-Fock photonic lattices.

We study a nonlinear Glauber-Fock lattice and the conditions for the excitation of localized structures. We investigate the particular linear properties of these lattices, including linear localized modes. We investigate numerically nonlinear modes centered in each site of the lattice. We found a strong disagreement of the general tendency between the stationary and the dynamical excitation thresholds. We define a new parameter that takes into account the stationary and dynamical properties of localized excitations.

Anderson localization in a periodic photonic lattice with a disordered boundary.

We investigate experimentally the light evolution inside a two-dimensional finite periodic array of weakly coupled optical waveguides with a disordered boundary. For a completely localized initial condition away from the surface, we find that the disordered boundary induces an asymptotic localization in the bulk, centered around the initial position of the input beam.

Observation of the gradual transition from one-dimensional to two-dimensional Anderson localization.

We study the gradual transition from one-dimensional (1D) to two-dimensional (2D) Anderson localization upon transformation of the dimensionality of disordered waveguide arrays. An effective transition from a 1D to a 2D system is achieved by increasing the number of rows forming the arrays. We observe that, for a given disorder level, Anderson localization becomes weaker with increasing numbers of rows-hence the effective dimension.