Observation of two-dimensional coherent surface vector solitons in femtosecond laser-written waveguide arrays

The experimental observation of optical surface vector solitons, which form at the edge and in the corner of two-dimensional laser-written waveguide arrays is reported in this paper. An optically polarized vector states are composed of two coherently interacting orthogonally polarized components. They exist only above a certain power threshold and bifurcate from scalar surface solitons towards higher propagation constants. The components of a vector soliton may feature substantially different degrees of localization in certain parameter ranges. Elliptically polarized surface vector solitons are stable throughout their entire domain of existence.