Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide lattice in glass for direct observation of transverse localization of light

We present initial results of the direct observation of the signature of localized light in an ultrafast laser-inscribed (ULI) disordered lattice that contains an array of evanescently coupled, one-dimensional optical waveguides in glass in which certain amount of disorder in refractive index was introduced. Numerical simulations were carried out to test the feasibility of the initial experimental design. Such configurable ULI disordered waveguide lattices should open up a platform for investigating the phenomenon of transverse localization of light and its statistical nature. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3691194]