One dimensional light localization with classical scatterers; an advanced undergraduate laboratory experiment

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates light localization in a one-dimensional system using simple experiments with glass slides, illustrating key wave localization phenomena suitable for undergraduate laboratories.

Contribution

It presents an accessible, economical experimental setup to observe light localization and wave behavior in a quasi-one-dimensional system for educational purposes.

Findings

Reflected and transmitted light show Ohm's law behavior for thin stacks.

Thicker stacks exhibit exponential decay of transmitted light.

Weak deviations from one-dimensional behavior are observed in larger stacks.

Abstract

The phenomenon of electronic wave localization through disorder was introduced by Anderson in 1958 in the context of electron transport in solids. It remains an important area of fundamental and applied research. Localization of all wave phenomena, including light, is thought to exist in a restricted one dimensional geometry. We present here a series of experiments which illustrate, using a simple experimental arrangement and approach, localization of light in a quasi one dimensional physical system. In the experiments, reflected and transmitted light from a stack of glass slides of varying thickness reveals an Ohm's Law type behavior for small thicknesses, and evolution to exponential decay of the transmitted power for thicker slide stacks. Light absorption is negligible in our realization of the experiment. For larger stacks of slides, weak departure from a one dimensional behavior is also observed. The experiment and analysis of the results, then showing many of the essential features of wave localization, is relatively straightforward, economical, and suitable for laboratory experiments at an undergraduate level.