Self-splitting of beams into spatial solitons in planar waveguides made of quadratic nonlinear media

The propagation of intense light beams in planar optical waveguides made of quadratic nonlinear media under conditions for second-harmonic generation is investigated. It is shown numerically that under appropriate conditions, input light beams break up into several spatial solitons that separate from each other and exit the waveguide at different positions. This paper reports the results of a series of numerical experiments and analytical investigations that were performed to elucidate the dynamics of the self-splitting process and discusses the implications of the results to the implementation of an eigenvalue switching device. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.