Wide class of new fractal light sources [Invited plenary paper]

McDonald, GS; Christian, JM; Huang, JG

Abstract

Pattern emergence in Naturepsilas complex systems is mostly attributed to a classic Turing instability. There, a single length-scale becomes dominant and this defines a simple emergent structure (for example, a striped or hexagonal pattern). We have investigated whether a multi-Turing instability may result in another universal type of pattern: fractals. Fractals possess proportional levels of detail across decades of length-scale, and are thus inherently scale-less. Here, we make the first predictions of spontaneous spatial fractal patterns in nonlinear ring cavities. This will include the first reported spatial optical fractals arising from purely-absorptive nonlinearity. Analyses reveal characteristic (multi-Turing) spectral features for both dispersive and absorptive cavities. Simulations verify and quantify the fractal properties of the spontaneously-patterned light. Our findings greatly widen the scope for potential realization and exploitation of fractal light sources. In Nature-inspired device and system architectures, such sources are likely to play a pivotal role in developments.

Citation

McDonald, G., Christian, J., & Huang, J. (2008, September). Wide class of new fractal light sources [Invited plenary paper]. Presented at Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers (CAOL), 2010 International Conference, Alushta, Crimea, Ukraine

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers (CAOL), 2010 International Conference
• Conference Location: Alushta, Crimea, Ukraine
• Start Date: Sep 29, 2008
• End Date: Oct 4, 2008
• Publication Date: Sep 29, 2008
• Deposit Date: Oct 14, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Publisher URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=4671934
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference