Quasi-solitonic behavior of self-written waveguides created by photopolymerization

We investigated the condition of unique self-written channel and multichannel propagation inside bulk photopolymerizable materials. Light was introduced in the medium by a single-mode optical fiber. At a very low beam power of $5 \mathit{\mu }\mathrm{W}$, a unique uniform-channel waveguide without any broadening was obtained by polymerization. When the input power is increased to $100 \mathit{\mu }\mathrm{W}$, the guide becomes chaotic and multichannel. We connected two fibers separated by a 1-cm distance. The results open the door to studies of the optical and electro-optical properties of photopolymerized guides doped by nonlinear optical chromophores and to possible applications in integrated optical devices.