Electro-optic steering of Nematicons

We study the angular steering of spatial solitons in nematic liquid crystals, i.e. nematicons, exploiting their electro-optic response. Approaches to electro-optic steering include acting on the optic axis and walk-off, propagating the soliton through a voltage-adjusted refractive interface or getting it totally internally reflected. Using comb electrodes in a planar cell, maximum angular deflections of 70° are expected with the standard nematic liquid crystal mixture E7.