Optical Zener-Bloch oscillations in binary waveguide arrays

Zener tunneling in a binary array of coupled optical waveguides with transverse index gradient is shown to produce a sequence of regular or irregular beam splitting and beam recombination events superimposed to Bloch oscillations. These periodic or aperiodic Zener-Bloch oscillations provide a clear and visualizable signature in an optical system of coherent multiband dynamics encountered in solid-state or matter-wave systems