Abstract

Photorefraclive materials are now extensively studied and used for their wave-mixing and phase conjugating properties. More recently, there has been considerable interest in observing and explaining light self-focusing and spatial optical solitons. In this perspective, a new approach has been suggested[1]: if the material is properly biased with an externally applied electric field or by the presence of a photovoltaic effect, the non-linearity of the photorefractive media becomes quasi-local. This can lead to the observation of phenomena such as spatial solitons[2] that were previously possible only at high powers in Kerr media.

© 1996 IEEE