Abstract

Spatial-soliton based optical Y-junctions can be formed by high-order dark soliton formation [1] or using the interaction characteristic exhibited by two neighboring bright-solitons [2]. Here we show that a collision between two bright spatial-soliton acts as an asymmetric optical Y-junction and, in specific cases, as an optical switch for the weak beams they guide. We demonstrate that the inputs probe beam energies can be split into the two emerging soliton channels in a controlled way, by properly adjusting the angle at which the two solitons cross, the relative phase of the colliding solitons or the wavelength of the probe beam. Therein, without modifying the soliton junction itself [2], the switching of the probe beam into a single soliton based optical channel can be actively controlled. We present a physical description of such a behavior based on the diffraction of the incident probe beams by a diffraction grating formed by the profile of the spatial-soli ton collision.

© 1993 Optical Society of America