We report the first experimental demonstration of ring-shaped photonic lattices by optical induction and the formation of discrete solitons in such radially symmetric lattices. The transition from discrete diffraction to single-channel guidance or nonlinear self-trapping of a probe beam is achieved by fine-tuning the lattice potential or the focusing nonlinearity. In addition to solitons trapped in the lattice center and in different lattice rings, we demonstrate controlled soliton rotation in the Bessel-like ring lattices.

• Received 26 October 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.083904