Analysis of dissipative effects on intrinsic optical bistability in a Kerr integrated device

We present both a derivation and a resolution method of a nonlinear equations system describing counterpropagation in a nonlinear guiding planar medium with linear and nonlinear losses (and/or gain). These equations system can be quasi-decoupled in a thin slice of the medium and they can be solved by exact or approximate methods, like the variational one, combined with an averaging technique analogous to the well-known usual modal transverse averaging. Results are applied to the case of a bistable Kerr integrated optical device showing the linear and nonlinear dissipative effects on intrinsic bistability and quantifying the operative limits of the device.