Inhibition of modulational instabilities via transverse band-gaps in nonlinear cavities

Abstract

This work considers nonlinear optical cavities with spatially modulated parameters and studies their effect on the formation of higher order spatial modes and pattern formation. In particular, this study shows that transversely modulated structures can suppress completely the off-axis emission associated with modulation instabilities and pattern formation. This phenomenon can be applied to the stabilisation of fundamental modes in optoelectronic devices with intracavity photonic crystals.