The fabrication or induction of reconfigurable lattices is an important step forward on lattice dynamics. The opportunity of instantaneously modifying the lattice geometry could allow to switch the dynamical properties on demand. By directly affecting the linear spectrum, we could control, for example, the properties of a flat band lattice and, therefore, steer the localization and transport of a light beam. This could be the key of success for optical computing based on photonic lattices.

In this work, our colleagues from Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, offer a solution that consists in shining a spatially-modulated pump laser beam and a gaussian probe beam onto a Rubidium atomic cell, to induce and control a reconfigurable Lieb photonic flat band lattice inside the cell. The lattice results from the laser-driven spatial modulation of the refractive index of the gas. The authors show the possibility of changing the induced refractive index contrast by varying the two-photon detuning frequency and the intensity of the coupling field. This example suggests an important new field of exploration on lattice dynamics, where the possibility of changing the lattice geometry in real time could be the final solution for applications using trivial and nontrivial lattice phenomenology.

---

---

 Add Comment

You must log in to add comments.