Chapter 2 - Spatial Solitons

Abstract

This chapter discusses the features of spatial solitons using a non-integrable generalized nonlinear SchröSdinger (NLS) equation. Spatial solitons in non-Kerr nonlinear materials exhibit many features that differ dramatically from those associated with the exactly integrable NLS equation. The solitary waves associated with non-Kerr nonlinear media preserve their shape, but their stability is not guaranteed, because of the non-integrable nature of the underlying generalized NLS equation. In fact, their stability against small perturbations is a crucial issue because only stable (or weakly unstable) self-trapped beams can be observed experimentally. Spatial solitons can propagate at an angle to the propagation direction z. Such solitons are of considerable practical interest because they allow steering of light by changing the angle that the soliton makes with the z axis. However, by changing the magnitude of velocity V electrically or optically, such a soliton can be steered in any direction. This shows the feasibility of a dynamically reconfigurable optical interconnect based on spatial solitons.