Dynamical properties of discrete solitons in optical waveguide arrays

The properties of discrete solitons in optical waveguide arrays under the action of a Kerr nonlinearity was discussed. The sample under investigation was a 6 mm long array consisting of 41 rib waveguides of 4μm width and with a uniform spacing of 5μm between each of the ribs. 180 fs long pulses with a maximum peak power of 10 kW into the central waveguide was launched at a wavelength of λ=1.53 μm. It was observed that the decay of unstable solitons centered between two waveguides resulted in a considerable sidewards motion across the array.