Magnetic routing of light-induced waveguides

Yana Izdebskaya,Wieslaw Krolikowski,Vladlen Shvedov,Gaetano Assanto

doi:10.1038/ncomms14452

Yana Izdebskaya, Wieslaw Krolikowski + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14452

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Abstract

Among photofunctional materials that can be employed to control the propagation of light by modifying their properties, soft dielectrics such as nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) stand out for their large all-optical response. Through reorientation, the molecular distribution of NLCs can be modified by the electric field of light, permitting functional operations and supporting self-localized light beams or spatial optical solitons. To date, the generation and routing of such solitons have been limited by the boundary conditions employed to tailor the properties of NLCs in planar cells or capillaries. Here we report on spatial solitons in bulk NLCs with no lateral anchoring, where the application of an external magnetic field effectively controls the direction of propagation and the angular steering of the self-trapped wavepackets. Our results entail a completely new approach to the routing of self-localized beams and light-induced waveguides in three dimensions, without the usual limitations imposed by transverse boundary conditions.

Highlights

Among photofunctional materials that can be employed to control the propagation of light by modifying their properties, soft dielectrics such as nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) stand out for their large all-optical response
The most notable experimental results in nematicon steering have been reported in planar configurations[9,20,21,22], whereby molecular orientation is defined by anchoring on the cell glass/NLC interfaces[19]
Fully three-dimensional (3D) soliton dynamics is hampered by the dimensional restrictions of these planar structures[29], as beam trajectories can only vary within the NLC region about the mid-plane of the cell, with angular steering not exceeding fractions of degree orthogonally to the propagation plane parallel to the interfaces[8,9]

Summary

Introduction

Among photofunctional materials that can be employed to control the propagation of light by modifying their properties, soft dielectrics such as nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) stand out for their large all-optical response. In this paper we demonstrate three-dimensional steering of self-trapped beam paths by employing bulk NLC samples without lateral boundary conditions and a magnetic field to modify their molecular orientation. In achieving this goal, we manage to exploit magnetic molecular reorientation[16] while preserving the nonlinear optical response of the material, introducing magneto-optic control of spatial solitons, realizing 3D soliton routing without limitations of voltage-controlled planar schemes, and paving the way to a whole new family of signal routers and processors

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Conclusion