Diffraction control in PT-symmetric photonic lattices: from beam rectification to dynamic localization

Abstract: We address the propagation of light beams in longitudinally modulated PT-symmetric lattices, built as arrays of couplers with periodically varying separation between their channels, and show a number of possibilities for efficient diffraction control available in such non-conservative structures. The dynamics of light in such lattices crucially depends on the ratio of the switching length for the straight segments of each coupler and the longitudinal lattice period. Depending on the longitudinal period, one can achieve either beam rectification, when the input light propagates at a fixed angle across the structure without diffractive broadening, or dynamic localization, when the initial intensity distribution is periodically restored after each longitudinal period. Importantly, the transition between these two different propagation regimes can be achieved by tuning only gain and losses acting in the system, provided that the PT-symmetry remains unbroken. The impact of Kerr nonlinearity is also discussed.