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Directional transport and nonlinear localization of light in a one-dimensional driven-dissipative photonic lattice

Tony Mathew Blessan1, Bastián Real2, Camille Druelle1,3, Clarisse Fournier1, Alberto Muñoz de las Heras4, Alejandro González-Tudela4, Isabelle Sagnes5, Abdelmounaim Harouri5, Luc Le Gratiet5 et al.

Aristide Lemaître5, Sylvain Ravets5, Jacqueline Bloch5, Clément Hainaut1, and Alberto Amo1,*

  • *Contact author: alberto.amo-garcia@univ-lille.fr
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033283 – Published 25 September, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/b3wk-r8r3

Abstract

Photonic lattices facilitate band structure engineering, supporting both localized and extended modes through their geometric design. However, greater control over these modes can be achieved by taking advantage of the interference effect between external drives with precisely tuned phases and photonic modes within the lattice. In this work, we build on this principle to demonstrate optical switching, directed light propagation, and site-specific localization in a one-dimensional photonic lattice of coupled microresonators by resonantly driving the system with a coherent field of controlled phase. Importantly, our experimental results provide direct evidence that increased driving power acts as a tuning parameter enabling nonlinear localization at frequencies previously inaccessible in the linear regime. These findings open different avenues for controlling light propagation and localization in lattices with more elaborate band structures.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033283– Published 25 September, 2025
  • Received 15 May 2025
  • Accepted 23 July 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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