  We address the propagation of laser beams in Si02-VO2 nanocomposite
waveguides with thermo-optical nonlinearity. We show that the large
modifications of the absorption coefficient as well as notable changes of
refractive index of VO2 nanoparticles embedded into the SiO2 host media that
accompany the semiconductor-to-metal phase transition may lead to optical
limiting in the near-infrared wave range.
