Dynamic light diffusion, Anderson localization and lasing in disordered inverted opals: 3D ab-initio Maxwell-Bloch computation

TL;DR

This paper presents 3D simulations of light behavior in disordered photonic structures, revealing localization, diffusion, and lasing phenomena, advancing understanding of light-matter interactions in complex media.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive 3D ab-initio Maxwell-Bloch simulation framework to study light localization, diffusion, and lasing in disordered inverted opals, highlighting dynamic processes and transitions.

Findings

Evidence of Anderson localization of light in 3D disordered structures

Observation of transition from Bloch oscillations to localized resonances

Quantitative analysis of diffusion constants and decay times

Abstract

We report on 3D time-domain parallel simulations of Anderson localization of light in inverted disordered opals displaying a complete photonic band-gap. We investigate dynamic diffusion processes induced by femtosecond laser excitations, calculate the diffusion constant and the decay-time distribution versus the strength of the disorder. We report evidence of the transition from delocalized Bloch oscillations to strongly localized resonances in self-starting laser processes.