Subwavelength optical spatial solitons and three-dimensional localization in disordered ferroelectrics: towards metamaterials of nonlinear origin

We predict the existence of a novel class of multidimensional light localizations in out-of-equilibrium ferroelectric crystals. In two dimensions, the non-diffracting beams form at arbitrary low power level and propagate even when their width is well below the optical wavelength. In three dimensions, a novel form of subwavelength light bullets is found. The effects emerge when compositionally disordered crystals are brought to their metastable glassy state, and can have a profound impact on super-resolved imaging and ultra-dense optical storage, while resembling many features of the so-called metamaterials, as the suppression of evanescent waves.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Spatial Light Modulators As Parallel Memories For Optoelectronic Neural Networks

A generic architecture for realizing neural networks is presented in which the synaptic interaction matrix is loaded in parallel into an electronic integrated circuit from a SLM. Three types of the electronic processors are described using CCD, CID and CMOS technologies respectively. The pros and cons of currently existing SLMs for this architecture are pointed out

Soliton electro-optic effects in paraelectrics

The combination of charge separation induced by the formation of a single photorefractive screening soliton and an applied external bias field in a paraelectric is shown to lead to a family of useful electro-optic guiding patterns and properties.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure

Anisotropic charge displacement supporting isolated photorefractive optical needles

The strong asymmetry in charge distribution supporting a single non-interacting spatial needle soliton in a paraelectric photorefractive is directly observed by means of electroholographic readout. Whereas in trapping conditions a quasi-circular wave is supported, the underlying double-dipolar structure can be made to support two distinct propagation modes.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Miniaturization and embedding of soliton-based electro-optically addressable photonic arrays

Using top-electrodes, we demonstrate the soliton-based miniaturized integration of electro-optic devices in a photorefractive paraelectric bulk crystal. Self-trapping and beam manipulation though soliton electro-activation is achieved at quasi-digital voltages

Spatial Light Modulators As Parallel Memories For Optoelectronic Neural Networks

A generic architecture for realizing neural networks is presented in which the synaptic interaction matrix is loaded in parallel into an electronic integrated circuit from a SLM. Three types of the electronic processors are described using CCD, CID and CMOS technologies respectively. The pros and cons of currently existing SLMs for this architecture are pointed out

Stable oscillating nonlinear beams in square-wave-biased-photorefractives

We demonstrate experimentally that in a centrosymmetric paraelectric non-stationary boundary conditions can dynamically halt the intrinsic instability of quasi-steady-state photorefractive self-trapping, driving beam evolution into a stable oscillating two-soliton-state configuration.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figs, revtex os

Evidence of double-loop hysteresis in disordered ferroelectric crystal

Double-loop electric-field vs polarization hysteresis is investigated in a depoled compositionally disordered lithium-enriched potassium tantalate niobate crystal. Comparing electro-optic response and dielectric spectroscopy indicates that the anomalous response occurs for those temperatures in which the sample also manifests a temperature hysteresis in the low-frequency dielectric function. An electric-field hysteresis at concurrent temperatures suggests an underlying role of reorienting mesoscopic polar regions that accompany the nonergodic phase. Published under license by AIP Publishing

Observation of replica symmetry breaking in disordered nonlinear wave propagation

A landmark of statistical mechanics, spin-glass theory describes critical phenomena in disordered systems that range from condensed matter to biophysics and social dynamics. The most fascinating concept is the breaking of replica symmetry: identical copies of the randomly interacting system that manifest completely different dynamics. Replica symmetry breaking has been predicted in nonlinear wave propagation, including Bose-Einstein condensates and optics, but it has never been observed. Here, we report the experimental evidence of replica symmetry breaking in optical wave propagation, a phenomenon that emerges from the interplay of disorder and nonlinearity. When mode interaction dominates light dynamics in a disordered optical waveguide, different experimental realizations are found to have an anomalous overlap intensity distribution that signals a transition to an optical glassy phase. The findings demonstrate that nonlinear propagation can manifest features typical of spin-glasses and provide a novel platform for testing so-far unexplored fundamental physical theories for complex systems