Classical Simulation of Relativistic Quantum Mechanics in Periodic Optical Structures

Spatial and/or temporal propagation of light waves in periodic optical structures offers a rather unique possibility to realize in a purely classical setting the optical analogues of a wide variety of quantum phenomena rooted in relativistic wave equations. In this work a brief overview of a few optical analogues of relativistic quantum phenomena, based on either spatial light transport in engineered photonic lattices or on temporal pulse propagation in Bragg grating structures, is presented. Examples include spatial and temporal photonic analogues of the Zitterbewegung of a relativistic electron, Klein tunneling, vacuum decay and pair-production, the Dirac oscillator, the relativistic Kronig-Penney model, and optical realizations of non-Hermitian extensions of relativistic wave equations.Comment: review article (invited), 14 pages, 7 figures, 105 reference

Optical memristive switches

Optical memristive switches are particularly interesting for the use as latching optical switches, as a novel optical memory or as a digital optical switch. The optical memristive effect has recently enabled a miniaturization of optical devices far beyond of what seemed feasible. The smallest optical – or plasmonic – switch has now atomic scale and in fact is switched by moving single atoms. In this review, we summarize the development of optical memristive switches on their path from the micro- to the atomic scale. Three memristive effects that are important to the optical field are discussed in more detail. Among them are the phase transition effect, the valency change effect and the electrochemical metallization.ISSN:1385-3449ISSN:1573-866