Temporal analysis of open-circuit dark photovoltaic spatial solitons

A theoretical model and experimental results to characterize the time-dependent formation of one-dimensional dark photovoltaic solitons under open-circuit conditions are presented. According to this theory, quasi-steady-state and steady-state solitons can both be obtained. In the quasi-steady-state regime solitons have intensity-independent widths, whereas their formation time is inversely proportional to the intensity, as confirmed by experimental results obtained with LiNbO3 samples. Theory predicts that the response times of steady-state solitons will be given by the dielectric response in the absence of an illuminating field, T-d. In the samples used in this research, only a trend toward a steady-state regime was observed, because of the prohibitively high value of T-d. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.