New J. Phys. 13, 113026 (2011)

Scientists in France claim to have observed the first experimental evidence of dissipative solitons in a one-dimensional Fabry–Pérot passive Kerr cavity. Eric Louvergneaux and co-workers from the University of Lille filled a Fabry–Pérot cavity comprising two 81%-reflective parallel mirrors with a 50-μm-thick layer of E7 liquid crystal. When pumping the cavity with a 532 nm beam from a frequency-doubled Nd3+:YVO4 laser, they observed two regimes of operation: a modulational instability regime and a bistability regime. In the bistability regime, the researchers observed the existence of either three independent solitons or a complex soliton comprising two locked solitons. Although this experiment was limited to the creation of one-dimensional solitons, the scientists are confident that their approach can easily be extended to two dimensions and are now working on making this a reality.