Abstract

We report the experimental observation of optical surface vector solitons, which fonn at the edge and in the comer of two-dimensional laser-written waveguide arrays. These elliptically polarized vector states are composed of two coherently interacting orthogonally polarized components. They exist only above a certain power threshold and bifurcate from scalar surface solitons towards higher propagation constants. The components of a vector soliton may feature substantially different degrees of localization in certain parameter ranges. Elliptically polarized surface vector solitons are stable throughout their entire domain of existence.

© 2009 IEEE