Abstract

It is well known that a 2-D optical beam propagating along a given direction (say z) in a homogeneous nonlinear medium (HNLM) will either spread out or collapse within a finite distance, depending on whether its power is below or above a critical value, P_C [1] . The next question then is whether or not it is possible to obtain stable, stationary (i.e., z-independent) beams by adding a linearly guiding structure, like for example a channel-waveguide. The linear refractive index has to decrease monotonically as a function of distance from the z axis.

© 1993 Optical Society of America