title: Experimental observation of optical bound states in the continuum.
abstract: We present the experimental observation of bound states in the continuum. Our experiments are carried out in an optical waveguide array structure, where the bound state (guided mode) is decoupled from the continuum by virtue of symmetry only. We demonstrate that breaking the symmetry of the system couples this special bound state to continuum states, leading to radiative losses. These experiments demonstrate ideas initially proposed by von Neumann and Wigner in 1929 and offer new possibilities for integrated optical elements and analogous realizations with cold atoms and optical trapping of particles.
authors: Physics Department and Solid State Institute, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors: Yonatan
authors: Y
authors: Plotnik
authors: Or
authors: O
authors: Peleg
authors: Felix
authors: F
authors: Dreisow
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Heinrich
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Nolte
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Szameit
authors: Mordechai
authors: M
authors: Segev
mesh_terms: D008027:Light; D008956:Models, Chemical; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D012031:Refractometry