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Observation of Two Dimensional Spatial Solitary Waves in a Quadratic Medium

William E. Torruellas, Lluis Torner, Zuo Wang, David J. Hagan, Eric W. Van Stryland, George I. Stegeman, CREOL, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla. and Curtis R. Menyuk, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.

Using intense fields, newly developed second order materials, such as KTP, which show a quadratic response with the optical field, can produce large phase distortions. Such effects are more commonly associated with an ultrafast change in the refractive index following the intensity of light. In a few materials with large second order response such as KTP, the coupling (energy exchange) between the fundamental and second harmonic fields can be the dominant process inducing large phase front distortions.