Graphene supports the propagation of subwavelength optical solitons

Nonlinear propagation of light in a graphene monolayer is studied theoretically. It is shown how the large intrinsic nonlinearity of graphene at optical frequencies enables the formation of quasi one‐dimensional self‐guided beams (spatial solitons) featuring subwavelength widths at moderate electric‐field peak intensities. A novel class of nonlinear self‐confined modes resulting from the hybridization of surface plasmon polaritons with graphene optical solitons is also demonstrated.