Bloch oscillations in an array of curved optical waveguides

Abstract

We propose to use periodically spaced, curved optical waveguides for observation of optical Bloch oscillations. The refractive index distribution in this system is equivalent to the sum of a periodic term resulting from the equal spacing of the waveguides and a linear ramp, created by the curvature. We demonstrate numerically that light propagation in this geometry exhibits spatial Bloch oscillations with the period depending on the radius of the curvature and the wavelength.