Nonlinear beam deflection in photonic lattices with negative defects

Abstract

We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that a nonlinear beam can be reflected by a negative defect in a photonic lattice if the incident angle is below a threshold value. Above this threshold angle, the beam simply passes through the defect. This phenomenon occurs in both one- and two-dimensional photonic lattices, and it provides a way to use the incident angle to control beam propagation in a lattice network. If the defect is absent or positive, no evident transition from reflection to transmission occurs. These nonlinear phenomena are also compared with linear nondiffracting-beam propagation in a photonic lattice with a defect, and both similarities and differences are observed. In addition, some important features in linear and nonlinear beam propagations are explained analytically by using a linear model with a delta-function defect.