CONTROLLABLE BRANCHING OF OPTICAL BEAMS BY QUASI-2-DIMENSIONAL DARK SPATIAL SOLITONS

A variable number of quasi-two-dimensional dark spatial solitons of ad justable transverse velocities could be generated by a proper choice o f the initial phase profile (odd or even) and the width of the crossed dark stripes and the background-beam intensity. The possibility of br anching a single input probe beam into ordered structures of subbeams is demonstrated numerically in a bulk self-induced-defocusing Kerr non linear media. The energy-density branching efficiency for each subbeam is evaluated and discussed. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.