Optical Bloch oscillation and Zener tunneling in an array of cylindrical waveguides. Numerical simulation

Abstract

We investigate optical Bloch oscillation, Zener tunneling and breathing modes in arrays of optical waveguides. We perform a new method of calculation based on the multiple scattering formalism. To demonstrate Bloch oscillation and breathing modes, we consider a planar array of parallel cylindrical waveguides with the refractive index gradually varying across the array. We demonstrate that the form of Bloch oscillation may be predicted by means of dispersion law analysis. To demonstrate Zener tunneling, we consider a planar array of cylindrical waveguides of two types situated by turn. The band structure of this array contains two bands separated by a narrow gap. If the refractive indices of waveguides gradually vary across the array, the Zener tunneling leads to the Bloch-Zener oscillation.