Abstract

By introducing material gain within a bulk nonlinear medium, it is possible to taper adiabatically a self-guided beam and to preserve its planar wave front. The amount of tapering can be controlled externally by varying the gain through the intensity of a pump beam. This self-guided beam induces a tapered (linear) waveguide, which in turn can guide a low-power (signal) beam. Two counterpropagating self-guided beams induce tapered, mismatched (linear) couplers that allow for all-optical, tunable, adiabatic power splitting without waveguide fabrication.

© 1992 Optical Society of America

Stable black self-guided beams of circular symmetry in a bulk Kerr medium

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Optically tunable adiabatic beam splitter

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Small-scale self-focusing in a tapered optical beam

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