We present a detailed review of the recently discovered optical wavegu
ide properties of spatial solitons; a subject of growing interest in o
ur country. The aim of this work is the study of the practical conside
rations needed to produce optical spatial solitons, as well as the des
cription of the potential applications of spatial solitons in the deve
lopment of all-optical logic gates and interconnecting devices. The re
view is supported by numerical simulations and experimental results ca
rried out in nonlinear dye solutions and in photorefractive crystals.