Spatial optical solitons in photorefractive crystals

Spatial optical soliton represents an optical beam propagating in a
nonlinear medium without changing its shape. Because of their robustness
and potential application in all-optical switching, solitons have been a
subject of intense theoretical and experimental studies.
In this talk I will present an overview of our research on spatial solitons in photorefractive crystals. In particular, I will discuss soliton formation, stability and interaction. I will also present results of our current investigations of nonlinear beam propagation in
periodic structures. These include formation of discrete and gap solitons and their steeering properties.