Pulsed spatial switching at the interface separating Kerr-like instantaneous and relaxing dielectric media

Propagation of optical pulses, both Gaussian and square in time, at an oblique angle to the interface separating two nonlinear self-focusing media, is studied numerically. The role of a finite-medium response in determining the reflection and transmission asymptotics of the pulse is established, and it is confirmed that, in the limit of a negligible Debye relaxation time, the equivalent particle theory for cw incident beams applies. Examples of spatially distributed multiplexing and demultiplexing of optical pulse trains illustrate the usefulness of the equivalent-particle picture in designing novel optical switching architectures. © 1990 The American Physical Society.