Spontaneous symmetry breaking and switching in planar nonlinear antiwaveguides

Author

Gisin, B.V. ; Kaplan, A. ; Malomed, B.A.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Tel Aviv Univ., Israel

fYear

2000

fDate

6-10 Aug. 2000

Firstpage

243

Lastpage

244

Abstract

We have found that a nonlinear antiwaveguide induces a spontaneous transition from symmetric to asymmetric modes, provided that the beam\´s intensity exceeds a certain critical value. The asymmetric mode is subject to a deflecting instability, which drives it into the cladding, without giving rise to fanning or stripping of the beam. The spontaneous symmetry breaking, in a combination with the deflecting instability, can be used to design a device for all-optical switching. The switching can be easily controlled by means of a "hot spot" initiating the symmetry breaking.

Keywords

bifurcation; nonlinear optics; optical planar waveguides; optical switches; spontaneous symmetry breaking; stability; all-optical switching device design; asymmetric mode; asymmetric modes; beam intensity; cladding; critical value; deflecting instability; hot spot; nonlinear antiwaveguide; planar nonlinear optical antiwaveguide switching; spontaneous symmetry breaking; spontaneous transition; symmetric modes; Bifurcation; Linear approximation; Nonlinear equations; Nonlinear optics; Optical refraction; Optical variables control; Optical waveguides; Refractive index; Schrodinger equation; Size control;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Nonlinear Optics: Materials, Fundamentals, and Applications, 2000. Technical Digest

Conference_Location

Kaua´i-Lihue, HI, USA

Print_ISBN

1-55752-646-X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NLO.2000.883635

Filename

883635