Vol. 5, No. 2/February 1988/J. Opt. Soc. Am.

B 565
Mihalache et al.

Exact solution for nonlinear thin-film guided waves in

higher-order nonlinear media

D. Mihalache and D. Mazilu

Central Institute of Physics, P.O. Box MG-6, Bucharest, Romania

M. Bertolotti and C.Sibilia

Dipartimento di Energetica, Universita degli Studi di Roma, Roma, Italy

Received January 18, 1987; accepted October 2, 1987

The intensity-dependent wave-vector and field distributions for TE-polarized nonlinear waves guided by a thin
dielectric film bounded on one side by a higher-order nonlinear self-focusing cladding characterized by the dielectric
function E= ec+ acIEI2 + f,3IE14 and on the other side by a linear substrate are calculated exactly. The stability to
propagation of these stationary nonlinear wave solutions is investigated numerically. The results are compared
with those obtained for Kerr-law nonlinear media.

1. INTRODUCTION agation of these stationary TEn nonlinear guided-wave solu-

Nonlinear waves guided by single and multiple interfaces 8
have been studied intensively theoretically recently,'-' but
only a few experiments dealing with intensity-dependent
propagation wave-vector and field distributions have been
reported to date. 9 20 A number of potential applications for
such nonlinear-optical waveguides to all-optical signal pro-
cessing have been identified, i.e., upper and lower threshold
devices, optical limiters, nonresonant bistable devices, and
switching devices. 21 A new formalism necessary for general-
izing the analysis of nonlinear thin-film guided-wave phe-
22 2 4
nomena to non-Kerr-like media was reported recently. -
This technique does not require analytical field solutions to
the nonlinear wave equation in order to-evaluate the power-
dependent wave number and relies on the first integral of
27
the nonlinear wave equation. 25 -
coefficient is small or the
When the Kerr-law nonlinearity
guided-wave intensity is increased, it becomes necessary to
consider the next term in the series expansion of the nonlin-
ear polarization of the medium. Therefore we consider that
the dielectric function of the higher-order nonlinear clad-
ding is given by (see Refs. 8, 16, and 17)
2 4
e= Ec + aIE1 + /3JIE1 .
tions. In Section 4 we briefly present our conclusions.
2. FIELD DISTRIBUTION AND POWER-
DEPENDENT PROPAGATION WAVE VECTOR
We consider an asymmetric three-layer dielectric structure
consisting of a linear substrate with dielectric constant Es in
region 1 (z < 0), a thin dielectric film of thickness d with
dielectric constant Ef in region II (O< z < d), and a nonlinear
self-focusing cladding (ac > 0) characterized by the dielec-
tric function [Eq. (1)] in region III (z > d).
The TE-polarized wave propagates along the x axis, and
the only nonvanishing component of the electric field is
Ey(x, z, t) = /2Ey(x, z)exp[i(f3k 0x - wt)] + c.c., (2)
where f3ko is the propagation wave vector, ko = wic is the
vacuum wave vector, and is the effective index.
The Maxwell equations for the usual stationary nonlinear
waves EY(O, z) = EY(z) are
d2E'_22I=0
dZ2 -ko
q 2
E = 0, z <0, (3)
(1)

Note that TE-polarized nonlinear waves guided by a sym- d 2EY" -

2 2
q EY1" = 0, O< z <d, (4)
metric layered structure consisting of a dielectric thin film
bounded on both sides by the same nonlinear self-focusing
medium characterized by the dielectric tensor [Eq. (1)] were
investigated recently.' 7 d2E II
- k 0 2 qc2 Ey1"' + k2ac(E III)3
This paper is structured as follows. In Section 2 we ob- dz2
tain the exact stationary field distributions and the power- + k02 #C(EY1") 5 = O, z > d, (5)
dependent wave number for TE-polarized nonlinear waves
guided by a thin dielectric film sandwiched between a linear
where q,2 = 2 - es, qj = (2 - f, and qc2 = 32- EC.
substrate and a self-focusing higher-order nonlinear clad-
ding (axc > 0) described by the dielectric function [Eq. (1)]. For ( > nf, where nf = efl/2, the exact solutions of Eqs. (3)-
In Section 3 we investigate numerically the stability to prop- (5) are (see Refs. 8, 16, and 17)

0740-3224/88/020565-06$02.00 1988 Optical Society of America

 566 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B/Vol. 5, No. 2/February 1988 Mihalache et al.

EY'(z) = a,-j/ 2A exp(koq.z), z -I0, (6)

tan(ko0 fd) = qf(q - wq,) .
(f2 + wqq,)
EY11(z) = (-1/2A
f + ) exp(k0 qf z) This result is similar to that of the linear case with the
[ 2 qf exception that q, is replaced by (-wqc). When a, -> 0 and c
- 0, then z - -- and u - -1, i.e., w - -1, and we obtain
+ 2qf exp(-koqfz), O<z <d, (7) the dispersion relation of TE-polarized guided modes of the
linear waveguide.
The guided-wave power in watts per meter of wave front is
E III(z) = 2q aj 11/2 {P1/2 cosh[2koq,(z - z,)] - } P/2, given in terms of the Poynting vector:
z>d, (8)
1
= 2p | E_2 (z)dz. (19)
where qs (32 - Cs) /2, qf = (2 - ef)11 , and qc = 2
(2 - e 1/2
2
Here v = 1 + '6 /1pqc > 0, p = c/CeC2, and
For flc < 0, i.e., p < 0 and > f, we obtain the following
expression for the total power flow P = Ps + Pf + PC:
A 2q [ (1--
2
U2 ) 11/2
U ) + V"21(j + U2 ) 1 A2
P = POO A' (20)
X [cosh(koqd)+ s sinh(koqfd) (9)
Pf = p1A' {kod (I - 2 + sinh(k0 qld)
u = tanh[k 0 qc(zc - d)]. (10)
Note that from the condition v > 0 we obtain in the case lB
< 0 the following interval for the permitted values of the
effective index 13(see Ref. 17): X [(I + q!)cosh(koqfd) + 2 - sinh(koqfd)]},

6 < 2< C
2 + 311
< i<a (11) (21)
P = 2POqc(l- p)-/2
Therefore from inequality (11) we find the following up-
per bound for the dimensionless parameter: X I l + pl/2 + (1 -p)][1 + pl/2 + (1-)l/2U
1[1 + p1/2 -(1-)1/ 2
][1 + l/2 -(1-)12U]

16(3s- ) (12) (22)

where
The dispersion relation obtained by ensuring the continu-
ity of dEy/dz is 1
Po = (-) (2k 0o)- .
tanh(koqfd)- q=(wqc
2
- (13) In the case when 1 < n we have
(q -wq.qc)
=2
where (23)

2v1/2U
[(p1/ 2 + 1) + U2 (V112 (14)
- 1)]
P2pB {kod (1 + , )+ 0 fd)
sin(ko
In the case that 1 < nf, the exact solutions of Maxwell
equations (3)-(5) are the following:
I
EY'(z) = a,-1"2A exp(koqsz), z < 0, (15)
X
Lxf/jcos(k 04/d) + 2 -
1 - sin(k 0 qd)
, J
(24)

12 and P, is given by Eq. (22).

EyW(z) = ac B [cos(koqiz) + - sin(koqfz)J,
In the case when fl, > 0, i.e., p > 0, Ps and Pf are given by
Eqs. (20), (21), (23), and (24), and P has the expression
O<z<d. (16)
Here EyI11(z) is given by Eq. (8), P = 2POq(v -)
qf = (f 1 2)1/2, and

B 2F [2q1- 2 X r - arcsin pl/2 - arcsin [(1 - u 22) 112 + (1 + u 22)] (25)

U2)(1-U
+ 112) 11/2
(1 + u2)J [(1 - ) + P1/2(1 + U )]J

The 1-power plot for the TE-polarized waves guided by a

thin dielectric film bounded on one side by a nonlinear self-
X [cos(k 0 q/d) + q- sin(koq/d)J (17)
focusing cladding (a > 0) described by the dielectric func-
tion [Eq. (1)] and on the other side by a linear substrate is
For 13< nf the dispersion relation is shown in Fig. 1 for several dimensionless parameters p. The
Mihalache et al. Vol. 5, No. 2/February 1988/J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 567

P
1.586

1.582
2 5
p . p=O
1.578

1.574

1.570 TE 0

1,566 - AB C

TE,
1.562 _ , > 2 .5

1.558 p0
P(mWlmm)
I I I Ii, >

20 40 60 80 120
100 140 160 180 200 220
2
Fig. 1. Dependence of the effective index / on the power flow. Here n, = 1.55, nf = 1.57, n, = 1.55, n2, = 10-9 m /W, d = 2 um, and X = 0.515
Mm.

value p = 0 corresponds to the case of a self-focusing Kerr-
law medium. For p < 0 we found a limited range of permit-
ted effective index d (see in Fig. 1 the TEO guided-wave
solution for p =-2.5). For p =-2.5 the value of: approach-
es its limiting value of a = O3max = [EC + (3/16pl)]1/2 asymptot-
ically with increasing power, i.e., the power diverges as /3
/max. We see from Fig. 1 that the absolute maximum in the
TE, guided-wave power depends strongly on the value of the
dimensionless parameter p.
The unique features of the TEO wave are the existence of
wave propagation for / > nf and the local maximum in the
guided-wave power. The self-focusing action of the nonlin-
ear cladding leads to a field maximum in that medium, and
the TEO branch degenerates at high powers into a single-
interface surface wave. Self-focusing in the nonlinear clad-
ding also occurs for higher-order TEn (m > 1) solutions (see
Refs. 12 and 13). The field extremum closest to the nonlin-
ear self-focusing cladding moves with increasing / into that
medium. But because one field extremum remains inside
the film, the field distributions must be oscillatory inside the
film, which requires that / < nf, and these waves cannot
asymptotically evolve into nonlinear single-interface polari-
tons (as the TEo waves do). Hence the TE, branch termi-
nates at a finite value of power P = PC(PS = Pf = 0) with / <
under study is of Hamiltonian form and the usual stability
arguments associated with the dissipative systems do not
apply (unless one deliberately introduces losses into the
system). The numerical studies have been limited to Kerr-
law nonlinear bounding media in which the optical change in
the refractive index is proportional to the local intensity I.
In the usual slowly varying phase and amplitude approxi-
mation the TE-polarized nonlinear guided wave is propagat-
ed numerically under the influence of the mixed-type lin-
ear-nonlinear Schr6dinger-like equation of the form
-2iko A -= A - y2 (z)k 0 2 A + O(z)kO2 IAI 2 (l + pIAI 2 )A,
(26)
2
where A(x, z) = ac/ Ey(x, z).
2
Here O(z) =O for - < z < d and (z) = 1 for z > d; y (z) =
2 2 2 2
2- ns for z <0, y (z) = /2-ni for 0 < z < d, and y (z)
2
- nc for z > d. Note that the usual stationary nonlinear
waves Ao(z) are x-independent solutions of Eq. (26), i.e., A(O,
z) = Ao(z) = qc./ 2Ey(z).
Equation (26) has two integrals of motion:
I(x, /3) = ko J 2
IA1 dz = (Po)-'P(3), (27)

nf (see the termination points A-C in Fig. 1).

H(x, /3)= ko J [ + k0202,y2(z)1A1 2
3. STABILITY ANALYSIS
- k 2
0(z) (1 + 3P 1A12)1AI1 dz, (28)
The question of stability to propagation of various TEn 2k 3 /1)
nonlinear stationary guided-wave solutions has only recent-
ly been studied by numerical techniques. -
28 34
Analytical and for arbitrary solutions of Eq. (26) we thus have dI/dx = 0
stability analysis is complicated by the fact that the system and dH/dx = 0.
568 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B/Vol. 5, No. 2/February 1988 Mihalache et al.

0.10 The stability of TE waves was investigated numerically

-0.05 with the aid of an IBM 370/135 computer. To avoid numeri-
cal stability questions we selected for the difference approxi-
80 - 0.0 mation of Eq. (26) the Crank-Nicolson scheme. 35 We chose
grid sizes equal in magnitude, k 0AX = koAz = 0.4. The
70 - corresponding system of nonlinear equations was solved by
the Newton-Picard method. We found that two iterations
60 - for the Newton-Picard method are sufficient. This differ-
ence scheme makes it possible to conserve the integrals of
50 - motion [Eqs. (27) and (28)] on the grid. The conservation of
the total power flow was always better than 99.5%.
3.40 - Unstable stationary waves are defined as waves whose
field distributions along the depth coordinate z change with
30 - propagation distance. Otherwise, the guided-wave solution
is called stable. In the research reported in this paper we
20 -
tested numerically the important conclusion 3 33 4 that, for
TEO waves guided by thin dielectric films bounded by only
one nonlinear self-focusing Kerr-law medium, all regions
10 -
exhibiting dP/dfl > 0 were found to be stable and the region
with dP/d# < 0 was found to be unstable.
Or
The evolution of the nonlinear guided-wave field distribu-
-0.5 0 2.0 2.5
Z [J ml tion with propagation distance in the case of a higher-order
nonlinear cladding (p = -2.5) is shown in Fig. 2 for a =
Fig. 2. Evolution of the TEO nonlinear guided-wave field distrib- 1.5671 on the positively sloped branch of the curve, P = P(fl).
tuion IA(x, Z)12 with propagation distance for the higher-order non-
linear cladding (p = -2.5). The initial field pattern Ao2(z) corre- For this value of the effective index the field remains con-
sponds to = 1.5671. fined to the waveguiding film and the field distribution does
not change with propagation distance. In the case of a
higher-order nonlinear cladding (p = -2.5) and for =
1.5685, the TEO wave on the negatively sloped branch of the
0.2
0.1
120 0.0

110'

100
80
90
70
80
60
70
n
r
-ju
':60
x
x 40
50
30
40
20
30
10
20
0 r- -
10 -1.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 5.0
Z Um]
-1 0 3.0 Fig. 4. Evolution of the TEO nonlinear guided-wave field distri-
no. 2.0
butiot IA(x, Z)I2 with propagation distance for the Kerr-law clad-
i'_ Z[pm]
ding (p = 0). The initial field pattern A 2(z) corresponds to / =
Fig. 3. Same as Fig. 2 but for / = 1.5685. 1.5685.
Mihaiache et al.
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 The authors thank G. I. Stegeman for many stimulating and
0.0 2.0 4.0
Z m]
Fig. 5. Same as Fig. 2 but for a = 1.5739.
nonlinear dispersion curve, 13= :(P), is unstable, and the
field distribution changes with propagation distance. Nu-
merical propagation over the first 240 wavelengths is shown
in Fig. 3. The instability is weak, the field remains confined
to the waveguiding film, and the field maximum oscillates
aperiodically back and forth between the film boundaries.
In the case of a Kerr-law nonlinear cladding (p = 0) and for
the same value of 1 1.5685, the stationary wave is unstable
on the negatively sloped region of the nonlinear dispersion
curve. We see from Fig. 4 that the wave starts to drift into
the nonlinear cladding medium. In this case the emission of
a single soliton (self-focused channel) from a nonlinear
waveguide is found to be a route by which unstable nonlinear
guided waves decay. 31 -34
The evolution of the TEO nonlinear guided-wave field dis-
tribution with propagation distance in the case of a higher-
order nonlinear cladding (p = -2.5) is shown in Fig. 5 for , =
1.5739 on the positively sloped branch of the nonlinear dis-
persion curve. In this case the optical field is shifted into
the interior of the nonlinear self-focusing cladding and the
nonlinear stationary wave is stable to propagation.
Similar numerics confirm that in the case p i 0 (higher-
order nonlinear self-focusing cladding) the TE1 branch is
stable on the positively sloped branch of the nonlinear dig-
persion curve d = 13(P) and is unstable on the negatively
sloped branch of the nonlinear dispersion curve, in agree-
ment with the recent results in the case of Kerr-law media (p
34
= 0) obtained by using the propagating-beam method.
Vol. 5, No. 2/February 1988/J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 569
4. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we have described how we obtained exact
solutions for the stationary field distributions and the pow-
er-dependent wave number of nonlinear TE-polarized
waves guided by a thin dielectric film bounded on one side
by a higher-order nonlinear self-focusing cladding charac-
terized by the dielectric function [Eq. (1)] and on the other
side by a linear substrate. In the case of a higher-order
nonlinear self-focusing cladding with a, > Oand 13c < 0, i.e., p
2
= 1lac < 0, we have found a limited range of permitted
effective index, i.e., Es1/ 2 < if [ + (3/161p)]1/2. Moreover,
the absolute maximum in the TE, guided-wave power de-
pends on the ratio p = /aYc2. So the typical characteristics
of the nonlinear guided waves that rely on intensity-depen-
dent changes in the field distribution depend strongly on the
details of the form of the optical nonlinearity that was con-
sidered, and this should be important for potential applica-
tions to nonlinear-optical devices.
The stability of TErn stationary nonlinear guided-wave
solutions was studied numerically. The numerical tech-
nique used here is completely general and can be applied to
arbitrary types of optical nonlinearity and to various wave-
guide geometries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
useful discussions. Also, the referee's suggestions are highly
appreciated.
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