Nonlinear Propagation and Self-Switching of Ultrashort Optical Pulses in Fiber Nonlinear Directional Couplers: The Normal Dispersion Regime

Year: 1989

Authors: Trillo S., Wabnitz S., Stegeman G.I.

Autors Affiliation: Fondazione Ugo Bordoni, Viale Europa 190, 00144 Rome, Italy; Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona, 85721., Tucson, AZ, United States

Abstract: We investigate the propagation of short optical pulses in a nonlinear directional coupler operating in the normal dispersion regime. We consider the specific example of a birefringent periodically rocked fiber filter where coupling occurs between the two orthogonally polarized modes that are aligned with the birefringence axes of the fiber. In the simulations, a bell-shaped input pulse is injected into one polarization mode: we calculate, for different input peak powers, the energy present in the same mode at the output of a coupler, which is one or two coupling lengths long. The nonlinear temporal broadening, due to the combined effect of group velocity dispersion and self-phase modulation, sets a fundamental lower limit to the time width of the input pulses. When using pulses shorter than this critical value, the power-dependent energy switching characteristics of a one coupling-length-long device get substantially spoiled. We discuss effects related to the finite spectral bandwidth of the fiber filter. Numerical simulations are compared to recent experimental results on the self-switching of picosecond pulses in the visible (615 nm) with a birefringent rocking fiber.

Journal/Review: IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS

Volume: 25 (8)      Pages from: 1907  to: 1916

More Information: This work was supported by the Fondazione Ugo Bordoni and by the National Science Foundation under Grant ECS-8501249. This work was performed under the framework of the agreement between the Fondazione Ugo Bor-doni and the Istituto Superiore Poste e Telecomunicazioni. S. Trillo and S. Wabnitz are with the Fondazione Ugo Bordoni, Viale Europa 190, 00144 Rome, Italy. G . I. Stegeman is with the Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ 85721. IEEE Log Number 8928478.
KeyWords: Light–Birefringence; Mathematical Models; Optical Fibers; Waveguide Components–Couplers, Temporal Broadening; Ultrashort Optical Pulses, Laser Pulses
DOI: 10.1109/3.34052

Citations: 24
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