Exact dynamic localization in curved AlGaAs optical waveguide arrays

We present experimental observations of exact dynamic localization of an optical beam in a periodically curved AlGaAs waveguide array. The dynamic localization of the beam is exact in that it is observed even when the photonic band of the array is not well described in the nearest-neighbor tight-binding approximation. We present the spatial evolution of the beam around the two-period plane in the structure, explicitly demonstrating the delocalization and subsequent relocalization of the beam. We also demonstrate the strong wavelength dependence of the beam relocalization for a four period structure. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.