Direct observation of Landau-Zener tunneling in a curved optical waveguide coupler

An electromagnetic realization of Landau-Zener (LZ) tunneling is experimentally demonstrated in femtosecond-laser written waveguide couplers with a cubically bent axis. Quantitative measurements of light evolution inside the coupler, based on fluorescence imaging, enable to trace the detailed dynamics of the LZ process. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical LZ model for linear crossing of energy levels with constant coupling of finite duration.