Abstract
All-optical switching and logic operation based on soliton-soliton interactions were considered [1-3]. Due to the “elastic” nature of soliton interactions in homogeneous Kerr media [4], attaining efficient switching in bulk material is difficult. More efficient switching and information transfer between two solitons can be achieved by allowing the solitons to interact in inhomogeneous media comprising non-linear interfaces [5]. When a single spatial soliton is incident, at an oblique angle, on an interface separating two positive Kerr media, it will be transmitted, reflected or trapped by the interface depending on the interface and soliton parameters. The presence of an additional soliton (“control”) can alter the trajectory of the first soliton (“signal”) and steer it to a different direction. Using a particle-like model [6] as well as beam propagation method (BPM), we study the interactions of two solitons while one of them is trapped in a potential well created by non-linear interfaces. Based on these interactions we demonstrate analytically and numerically multiple input all-optical soliton processing units. Since the interacting soliton bits maintain their identity after the collisions, the logic we propose is in principle indefinitely cascadable and belongs to the class of reversible logic. This is a step towards practical application of spatial solitons for all-optical computation and processing of information. The suggested realization is by a slab waveguide, transversely patterned by different Kerr media and their resulting nonlinear interfaces.
© 2004 Optical Society of America
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