Discrete solitons in nonlinear zigzag optical waveguide arrays with tailored diffraction properties

Abstract

We show that the discrete diffraction properties of a nonlinear optical zigzag waveguide array can be significantly modified, by exploiting the topological arrangement of the lattice itself. This introduces extended interactions (beyond nearest-neighbors), which, in turn, affect the lattice dispersion relation within the Brillouin zone. As a result, we demonstrate that new families of discrete soliton solutions are possible which are stable over a wide range of parameters. Our method opens new opportunities for diffraction management that can be employed to generate low power spatial discrete optical solitons.