Nonlinear optical responses and gap-soliton lattices in layered dielectric materials

Abstract

A new approach to the nonlinear reponse of a multiplayer structure consisting of alternating dielectric materials with intensity-dependent dielectric constants is considered in both analytical and numerical viewpoints. The nonlinear feedback of the structure gives rise to an artificial potential acting as a mean-field feedback on each single dielectric material due to other layers. For superlattices resulting from a regular periodic arrangement of an infinite number of single dielectric layers, it is shown that an analytical expression of this mean-field feedback can be obtained and waveshapes of the associate gap solitons are derived. The case of a multilayer with dispersive interlayer interactions is considered numerically and leads to strongly localized gap solitons. Implicatons of the artificial soliton structure as for possible theoretical modelling of soliton-compression phenomena are discussed.