title: Optical Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling of Airy beams in ionic-type photonic lattices.
abstract: We report on the existence of optical Bloch oscillations (OBOs) and Zener tunneling (ZT) of Airy beams in ionic-type photonic lattices with a refractive index ramp. Different from their counterparts in uniform lattices, Airy beams undergoing OBOs show an alternatively switched concave and convex trajectory as well as a periodical revival of input beam profiles. Moreover, the ionic-type photonic lattice established in photorefractive crystal exhibits a reconfigurable lattice structure, which provides a flexible way to tune the amplitude and period of the OBOs. Remarkably, it is demonstrated that the band gap of the lattice can be readily controlled by rotating the lattice inducing beam, which forces the ZT rate to follow two significant different decay curves amidst decreasing index gradient. Our results open up new possibilities for all-optical switching, routing and manipulation of Airy beams.
authors: Fajun
authors: F
authors: Xiao
authors: Weiren
authors: W
authors: Zhu
authors: Wuyun
authors: W
authors: Shang
authors: Meirong
authors: M
authors: Wang
authors: Peng
authors: P
authors: Zhang
authors: Sheng
authors: S
authors: Liu
authors: Malin
authors: M
authors: Premaratne
authors: Jianlin
authors: J
authors: Zhao