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Formation and control of localized structures in nonlinear optical systems
M. Brambilla1, L. A. Lugiato, M. Stefani
1Istituto Nazionale Fisica della Materia and Department of Physics, Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, Bari 70126, ItalyIstituto Nazionale Fisica della Materia and Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Universita di Milano, Via Celoria 16, Milano 20133, Italy.
Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)
|September 1, 1996
Summary
Researchers demonstrate optical pattern formation in nonlinear resonators. Localized intensity peaks, akin to solitons, can be controlled with laser pulses, enabling optical data encoding.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear optics
- Optical resonators
- Pattern formation
Background:
- Diffractive effects in passive nonlinear optical resonators can induce pattern-forming instabilities.
- Localized structures, such as hexagonal lattices of intensity peaks, can emerge and coexist with homogeneous solutions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the excitation and control of localized intensity peaks (soliton-like structures) in nonlinear optical resonators.
- To explore the potential for encoding optical information using these controllable localized structures.
Main Methods:
- Excitation of soliton-like intensity peaks in the transverse plane of a passive nonlinear optical resonator.
- Utilizing narrow laser pulses for targeted activation and deactivation of these peaks.
- Analyzing the conditions for ensuring the independence of individual peaks.
Main Results:
- Successfully excited localized, soliton-like intensity peaks with hexagonal lattice patterns.
- Demonstrated selective control over the on/off states and locations of these peaks using laser pulses.
- Identified conditions for maintaining the independence of multiple localized peaks.
Conclusions:
- Localized structures in nonlinear optical resonators can be precisely controlled.
- The ability to manipulate these optical patterns suggests potential applications in optical information encoding.