We report the experimental observation of the formation of multiple optical quadratic solitons in a process mediated by the amplification of minute asymmetries in the diffraction properties of the input light. Experiments were conducted in phase-matched second-harmonic generation in a bulk crystal of periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate pumped at 1064 nm. The different mechanisms that influence the process were investigated numerically, and the pulsed nature of the pump light was found to play a key role in the observed light distributions.

Peer Reviewed