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American Physical Society, Physical Review Letters, 26(91)

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.91.263902

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Optical analogue of electronic Bloch oscillations

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This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

We report on the observation of Bloch oscillations in light transport through periodic dielectric systems. By introducing a linear refractive index gradient along the propagation direction the optical equivalent of a Wannier-Stark ladder was obtained. Bloch oscillations were observed as time-resolved oscillations in transmission, in direct analogy to electronic Bloch oscillations in conducting crystals where the Wannier-Stark ladder is obtained via an external electric field. The observed oscillatory behavior is in excellent agreement with transfer matrix calculations.