Pairing space-charge field conditions with self-guiding for the attainment of circular-symmetry in photorefractive solitons

By means of a comparative study, we identify a specific physical mechanism that leads to circular-symmetric two-dimensional photorefractive solitons, and determine the conditions for their observation. For a given photorefractive crystal, this allows the control of the transition from an elliptical soliton-supporting regime to a round soliton-supporting one. This indicates a basic recipe to generate electro-optic devices in three-dimensional crystals compatible with single-mode fiber.