Engineering optical soliton bistability in colloidal media

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that by using a mixture of two nanoparticle species in colloidal media, optical soliton bistability can be achieved in two dimensions, enabling new control over light propagation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to realize optical soliton bistability in colloids with two species, expanding possibilities beyond single-species limitations.

Findings

Optical soliton bistability observed in two-dimensional colloids with two nanoparticle species.

Interaction of solitons can induce switching between bistable states.

Solitons from different branches repel each other phase-independently.

Abstract

We consider a mixture consisting of two species of spherical nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid medium. We show that with an appropriate choice of refractive indices and particle diameters, it is possible to observe the phenomenon of optical soliton bistability in two spatial dimensions in a broad beam power range. Previously, this possibility was ruled out in the case of a single-species colloid. As a particular example, we consider the system of hydrophilic silica particles and gas bubbles generated in the process of electrolysis in water. The interaction of two soliton beams can lead to switching of the lower branch solitons to the upper branch, and the interaction of solitons from different branches is phase independent and always repulsive.