Optical devices based on spatial bright solitons with controllable outputs

Spatial optical solitons have been suggested for all optical guiding and switching in nonlinear-optical media. One of their more promising characteristics for practical applications in photonics are the structures formed by intersecting waveguides such as X or Y junctions. Such intersecting waveguides can be implemented by colliding two or more solitons. Recently collision between mutually incoherent 2D spatial solitons in a SBN crystal was reported, interacting forces between one-dimensional spatial solitons in parallel propagation were observed, and the fusion and birth of 2D spatial solitons caused by the collision and annihilation of photorefractive solitons was reported. Other techniques for optical switching can be implemented using effects like total internal reflection of solitons in an interface formed by a nonlinear and a linear medium