3D Anderson localization of light in disordered systems of dielectric particles

Abstract: We present the results of full-wave numerical simulations of light transmission through layers of irregular dielectric particles, demonstrating three-dimensional Anderson localization of light in disordered, uncorrelated discrete media. Our simulations show that a high degree of disorder in a dense layer suppresses the transverse spreading of a propagating beam. A transition from the purely diffusive regime to a non-exponential temporal dependence is observed in short-pulse time-resolved transmission measurements as the system approaches the Ioffe-Regel condition. Along with this, the transmission spectrum becomes consistent with the Thouless criterion. The effect depends on the turbidity of the layer: increasing the volume fraction of scatterers and the refractive index contrast enhances the non-exponential behavior induced by disorder, which is a clear signature of Anderson localization.