Magneto-optic spatial solitons

The properties of spatial solitons in planar waveguides set up to take advantage of a longitudinal magnetooptic influence are investigated theoretically. With simple but permissible structures, the interaction of spatial solitons is analyzed in a rotating-wave representation with the aid of a Lagrangian variational procedure. It is shown that an asymmetric potential well exists that separates solitons, even if they attract each other in zero applied magnetic field. An interesting switching arrangement is discussed for a more general polarization interaction based on a magnetic field distribution that varies along the propagation direction. Finally, it is demonstrated briefly that in this configuration the magneto-optic property has an influence on modulation instability. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.