dispersion-decreasing fibers (original) (raw)

Definition: optical fibers where the chromatic dispersion changes monotonously along the propagation direction

Categories: article belongs to category fiber optics and waveguides fiber optics and waveguides, article belongs to category light pulses light pulses

Related: dispersion-shifted fiberstapered fibersadiabatic soliton compression

DOI: 10.61835/zi2 Cite the article: BibTex BibLaTex plain textHTML Link to this page! LinkedIn

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What are Dispersion-decreasing Fibers?

Dispersion-decreasing fibers are optical fibers where the magnitude of the (typically anomalous) chromatic dispersion decreases along the propagation direction. Such a behavior can be obtained, e.g., by gradually changing the fiber diameter during the fiber pulling process because the fiber diameter affects the waveguide dispersion of the fiber. Such tapered fibers can be made of standard single-mode fibers, but also of photonic crystal fibers.

A possible application of dispersion-decreasing fibers is adiabatic soliton compression, where one exploits the fact that a soliton pulse adapts its parameters (including the pulse duration) to the fiber parameters, provided that the variation of dispersion is sufficiently slow.

Due to the difficulty of fabricating and handling dispersion-decreasing fibers, such fibers are not widely used.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a dispersion-decreasing fiber?

A dispersion-decreasing fiber is an optical fiber where the magnitude of its chromatic dispersion, which is typically anomalous, decreases along the propagation direction.

How can one make a dispersion-decreasing fiber?

Such fibers can be made by gradually changing the fiber diameter during the fiber pulling process. This tapering modifies the waveguide dispersion along the fiber.

What are dispersion-decreasing fibers used for?

A key application is adiabatic soliton compression. Here, a soliton pulse becomes shorter as it propagates through the fiber, adapting its pulse duration to the slowly changing dispersion.

Why are dispersion-decreasing fibers not widely used?

They are not common mainly due to the difficulties associated with their fabrication and handling compared to standard optical fibers.

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