Defect-controlled Anderson localization of light in photonic lattices

Abstract

The transverse localization of light in a disordered photonic lattice with a central defect is analyzed numerically. The effect of different input beam widths on various regimes of Anderson localization is investigated. The inclusion of a defect enhances the localization of both narrow and broad beams, as compared to the lattice with no defect. But, in the case of a broad beam a higher disorder level is needed to reach the same localization as for a narrow input beam. It is also investigated how the transverse localization of light in such geometries depends on both the strength of disorder and the strength of nonlinearity in the system. While in the linear regime the localization is most pronounced in the lattice with the defect, in the nonlinear regime this is not the case.