Optomechanical self-channelling of light in a suspended planar dual-nanoweb waveguide

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that optomechanical forces can induce nonlinear self-channelling of light in a dual-nanoweb waveguide, achieving high nonlinearity at low powers through a broadband, non-resonant mechanism.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical analysis of self-channelling in a dual-nanoweb waveguide driven by optomechanical forces, highlighting a novel broadband, highly nonlinear effect.

Findings

Self-channelling occurs at powers as low as a few mW.

Nonlinear optical response is up to ten million times higher than Kerr nonlinearity.

The effect is broadband and results from the mechanical nonlocality.

Abstract

It is shown that optomechanical forces can cause nonlinear self-channelling of light in a planar dual-slab waveguide. A system of two parallel silica nanowebs, spaced ~100 nm and supported inside a fibre capillary, is studied theoretically and an iterative scheme developed to analyse its nonlinear optomechanical properties. Steady-state field distributions and mechanical deformation profiles are obtained, demonstrating that self-channelling is possible in realistic structures at launched powers as low as a few mW. The differential optical nonlinearity of the self-channelled mode can be as much as ten million times higher than the corresponding electronic Kerr nonlinearity. It is also intrinsically broadband, does not utilize resonant effects, can be viewed as a consequence of the extreme nonlocality of the mechanical response, and in fact is a notable example of a so-called "accessible" soliton.