Tailoring wave nonlinearity through spatial composites

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to tailor optical nonlinear responses by spatially hybridizing different nonlinear media, enabling precise control over light propagation and soliton formation in complex photonic structures.

Contribution

It presents a theoretical framework for designing optical nonlinearities via spatial composites, allowing for customized nonlinear responses in photonic devices.

Findings

Effective nonlinear response can be engineered through spatial composites.

Predicted bending-free miniaturized soliton propagation in photorefractive crystals.

Method applicable to various nonlinear media for advanced photonic applications.

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate theoretically a method to achieve and design optical nonlinear responses through a light-mediated spatial hybridization of different standard nonlinearities. The mechanism is based on the fact that optical propagation through a spatial composite of different nonlinear media is governed by an effective nonlinear response if the spatial scale of the sequence is much smaller than the light diffraction length. We apply our general approach to the significant case of centrosymmetric photorefractive crystal biased by a periodically modulated external voltage to predict strictly bending-free miniaturized soliton propagation.