Nonlinear Goos–Hänchen shifts of reflected light from inhomogeneous Kerr-like slabs

• The Goos–Hänchen (GH) shifts of reflected light from inhomogeneous Kerr-like slabs are investigated.
• The GH shifts exhibit bistable, multivalued properties or a more complicated hysteretic response to the input light intensity.
• The bistable or multivalued GH shifts can be modulated by the angle of incidence and the thickness of slab.

We investigate the Goos–Hänchen (GH) shifts of reflected light from Kerr-like slabs, whose permittivities are inhomogeneous in space as well as light intensity dependent. The GH shifts exhibit bistable, multivalued properties or a more complicated hysteretic response to the input light intensity, and the different spatial dependences of the permittivity have a great effect on the hysteretic response. The bistable or multivalued GH shifts can be modulated by various parameters, such as the angle of incidence and the thickness of slab.