Abstract
Numerical simulations and experimental measurements of the one-dimensional discrete system based on nematic liquid crystal waveguides are presented. Periodicity in the refractive index distribution is obtained by low-frequency electric field. Additionally, strong optical nonlinearity due to the reorientation effect modifies the propagation of light in the investigated system. As a result the discrete diffraction can be changed by external electric field as well as by increasing the power of the guided light beam. Finally, the discrete spatial solitons at milliwatts light power levels and at a few millimeters lengths are also shown.