Chaotic ray dynamics in slowly varying two-dimensional photonic crystals

Opt Lett. 2003 Jun 15;28(12):1034-6. doi: 10.1364/ol.28.001034.

Abstract

We use Hamiltonian optics to investigate chaotic ray dynamics in a photonic crystal whose lattice parameters vary slowly with position. The ray dynamics are chaotic even in regimes where only stable motion has been found in previous studies of energy band transport. Stable ray paths provide dynamical barriers that localize chaotic motion to certain regions of the photonic crystal.