Abstract

We propose an all-optical switch and router that is based on the interaction of counterpropagating mutually incoherent spatial optical solitons. We show that such an interaction scheme of counterpropagating solitons can be used to build an all-optical switch and router that is based on attractive or repulsive forces between the light beams. A control beam is used to redirect a signal beam to one out of a set of possible output channels. The feasibility of the device is demonstrated experimentally by nonlinear collision of spatial solitons in a photorefiractive planar waveguide in strontium barium niobate. Switching speeds below one second are reached, however, by using higher intensities for the control beams, the switching time constants can be considerably decreased.

© 2001 Optical Society of America