Self-bouncing optical beams in photorefractive waveguides

It is shown that, as a result of diffusion space-charge field effects, self-bouncing beam behavior is possible in photorefractive waveguides. The process is explicitly demonstrated by means of an exact Gaussian solution in the case of parabolic planar waveguides. The trajectory of these beams as well as their associated characteristics is given in terms of relevant parameters. Asymmetric modal states are also obtained for parabolic and other waveguide structures. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America