SPATIAL-SOLITON-INDUCED GUIDED-WAVES IN A HOMOGENEOUS NONLINEAR KERR MEDIUM

It has been predicted that an intense pump beam can induce the focusing of a weak probe beam at a different wavelength that is simultaneously propagating in a Kerr homogeneous material through cross-phase modulation. In Kerr-type nonlinear material, spatial solitons are the only stable waves able to propagate at high-intensity levels without leading to catastrophic breakdown. We propose the use of a soliton beam to induce the stable guiding of a probe beam. Experimental results obtained with picosecond pulses are reported that evidence spatial-soliton-induced guiding.