Waveguide properties of reconfigurable optic channels induced by multiple-colliding spatial Kerr solitons

A new simple optically reconfigurable waveguide switch structure based on the fast multiple interactions between bright (1+1) D coherent Kerr spatial solitons is presented. It is shown that intersecting waveguide channels induced by the solitons becomes highly effective for all-optical steering the weak optic signals, when they form a Mach-Zehnder-like interferometric structure. Depending on the interaction time between the solitons, the 1-5-mm-long structure can provide an efficient angular or parallel spatial shift of the signal wave trajectory. The important feature of the structure is that the above functions are insensitive to the initial relative phase difference between the solitons. It is shown, also, that the waveguide properties of the structure, in particular the soliton interaction zone, can be qualitatively described and predicted by involving the classical properties of coupled dielectric waveguides.