Nonlinear shift of spatial solitons at a graded dielectric interface

We investigate total internal reflection of optical spatial solitons at the interface between two regions of nematic liquid crystals with different optical densities. Due to nonlinear molecular reorientation, the solitons experience a penetration depth, hence, a lateral shift that depends on the excitation, with lateral shifts from 0.7 to 1.2 mm as input powers increased from 1.6 to 9.3 mW.