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Nematicon waveguides: self-confined beams and their electric control

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Abstract

We investigate the excitation and propagation of self-confined beams and the electric steering of soliton-based optical waveguides in nematic liquid crystalline planar cells. Controlled addressing of a signal is achieved in space by exploiting the electro-optic response of the uniaxial material, employing either uniform or patterned electrodes to alter either the Poynting vector or the wavevector, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

O.B. and M.K. acknowledge the financial support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under the KTS scheme and thank Prof. M. Damzen and Midaz Lasers Ltd. for their contribution and support. The work in Rome was partially supported by a NATO-EOARD (European Office of Aerospace Research and Development) grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nonlinear Optics and OptoElectronics Lab (NooEL), University of Rome “Roma Tre”, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146, Rome, Italy

    O. Buchnev, A. Piccardi & G. Assanto

  2. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    O. Buchnev & M. Kaczmarek

Authors
  1. O. Buchnev
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  2. A. Piccardi
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  3. M. Kaczmarek
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  4. G. Assanto
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Correspondence to A. Piccardi.

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Buchnev, O., Piccardi, A., Kaczmarek, M. et al. Nematicon waveguides: self-confined beams and their electric control. Appl. Phys. B 108, 177–182 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-012-4978-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-012-4978-9

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