Abstract

Photo-written optical waveguides and waveguide arrays are experimentally demonstrated by employing structure light beam illuminations and spatial dark solitons in photorefractive crystals. Planar, Y-branches, and fiber-like waveguides are fabricated by employing illuminations of structure light beams generated by using binary or SLM-prepared optical masks, and a channel waveguide is created by employing one-dimensional spatial dark solitons in LiNbOsiFe crystals. Planar and channel waveguide arrays are created by illuminating of two-beam or four-beam interference fields in LiNbOsiFe, SBNiCr, and KNSBNiCe crystals. The experimental results show that waveguides and waveguide arrays are successfully fabricated.

© 2005 Optical Society of America