Anderson localization in a periodic photonic lattice with a disordered boundary

TL;DR

This paper experimentally demonstrates that a disordered boundary in a finite photonic lattice causes bulk localization of light, even when starting from a localized initial condition away from the boundary.

Contribution

It reveals how boundary disorder can induce bulk Anderson localization in a finite photonic lattice, a novel insight into boundary effects on wave localization.

Findings

Disordered boundary causes asymptotic localization in the bulk.

Bulk localization occurs even from initial conditions away from the boundary.

Experimental evidence of boundary-induced Anderson localization.

Abstract

We investigate experimentally the light evolution inside a two-dimensional finite periodic array of weakly- coupled optical waveguides with a disordered boundary. For a completely localized initial condition away from the surface, we find that the disordered boundary induces an asymptotic localization in the bulk, centered around the initial position of the input beam.