Gap solitons and the nonlinear optical response of superlattices

Abstract

We study theoretically the transmission of radiation through superlattices of finite length, where the dielectric constant of one film in each unit cell contains a term linear in the local field intensity. When such a system is illuminated with radiation with frequency in a stop gap, increasing power can switch it from a state with low transmissivity to a state with transmissivity of unity. Gap solitons play a key role in the phenomenon.