Abstract

Waves guided by thin-film dielectric waveguides should exhibit an intensity-dependent wave vector when the film or bounding media are characterized by a power-dependent refractive index. When power levels are sufficient to make the refractive-index change comparable with the index difference between the film and one of the bounding media, dramatic changes in the guided-wave field distributions and waveguide transmission might be expected. We have observed such effects experimentally when the liquid crystal MBBA is placed on top of a glass (n. = 1.61) on glass (n = 1.52) waveguide.

© 1984 Optical Society of America