Light-bullet routing and control with planar waveguide arrays

Spatial mode-locking in three dimensions can be achieved in a slab waveguide array architecture. This study focuses on using the resulting robust and self-starting light bullet formation for photonics applications. Specifically, light bullets can be manipulated through a simple electronically addressable spatial gain dynamics. By applying gain ramps in time and/or space via electronics technology, complete control and manipulation of the light bullets can be achieved, thus allowing for the construction of the master logic gates of NAND and NOR. Its robustness, self-starting behavior and easy addressability suggest that the slab waveguide array mode-locking merits serious consideration as a next generation photonics device. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America