Transient self-action of a light beam in a lithium niobate waveguide

Abstract

We experimentally investigate the photorefractive self-action of light beams within planar optical waveguides in lithium niobate biased by external electric field, to find the conditions for the formation of quasisteady-state screening-photovoltaic spatial solitons. Their formation is expected to take much shorter time compared with the steady-state photovoltaic solitons.