Dark spatial soliton propagation in bulk ZnSe

The propagation of dark spatial solitons was experimentally demonstrated in bulk ZnSe at λ=532 nm using a picosecond laser system. Several propagation and collision parameters were measured and compared with analytic and numerical predictions. It is shown that the propagation parameters behave in a manner consistent with two-dimensional analytic and three-dimensional numerical predictions. The important result is that it is possible to create pronounced dark spatial solitons on a bright optical pulse which do not disappear due to the self-defocusing and diffraction processes operating in the media of interest