Spatial routing with light-induced waveguides in uniaxial nematic liquid crystals

Abstract

In reorientational soft-matter with uniaxial character, such as nematic liquid crystals (NLCs), self-confined beams into spatial optical solitons are graded-index waveguides subject to birefringent walkoff. We investigate a router to be realized in a planar cell with an inhomogeneous distribution of the optic axis. Based on the input beam position, the proposed demultiplexer can direct the soliton and the copolarized guided-wave signal(s) to various output ports, enhancing the transverse separation of the exit channels and therefore minimizing crosstalk. Both the soliton and the signal(s) maintain their phasefronts normal to launch and exit wavevectors, allowing for excellent coupling into output channels/fibers at the device exit.