Abstract

The spatial soliton phenomenon ie the stable self-guided propagation of a laser beam has been obtained in a waveguide filled with a Kerr medium. This type of propagation has to prove its robustness for future applications. Nonlinear effects such as stimulated Rayleigh scattering[1], present when the power necessary to built a soliton propagation is reached have already been studied and have shown that they influence the propagation stability. We show here that another instability arises on the output beam polarization at the soliton power threshold and above. This polarization instability is analysed as function of different parameters concerning the input beam power and the waveguide.

© 1998 IEEE