dispersion management (original) (raw)
Definition: the use of tailored chromatic dispersion to enhance the function of optical devices or systems
Categories: 
laser devices and laser physics, 
lightwave communications, 
light pulses, 
methods
Related: dispersionchromatic dispersiondispersion compensationoptical fiber communications
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DOI: 10.61835/np1 Cite the article: BibTex BibLaTex plain textHTML Link to this page! LinkedIn
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Dispersion management is a somewhat wider term than dispersion compensation, even though both are often used in the same way. Strictly, dispersion compensation should be understood as a method for canceling the chromatic dispersion of some optical element(s), whereas dispersion management is more generally the use of tailored dispersion properties to enhance some function.
Examples of dispersion management in different situations are:
- In a mode-locked laser operating at a wavelength around 1 μm or shorter, the intracavity optical elements often contribute normal chromatic dispersion. For optimum pulse generation, it is often beneficial to overcompensate the normal chromatic dispersion to utilize the regime of anomalous dispersion, where soliton effects can help to obtain shorter pulses (→ soliton mode locking), which may also have a higher pulse quality e.g. in terms of weak pedestals and high stability. If the desired pulse duration is in the regime of tens of femtoseconds or less, it is usually also necessary to compensate carefully the higher-order dispersion, i.e., to control the group delay dispersion over a significant optical bandwidth.
- In a mode-locked fiber laser, dispersive and nonlinear effects can become so strong that the pulse parameters (including the pulse duration and chirp) vary significantly during each resonator round trip. With a suitable combination of fibers exhibiting normal and anomalous dispersion, a stretched-pulse fiber laser can be realized, which can generate pulses (dispersion-managed solitons) with significantly higher pulse energy than with, e.g., soliton mode locking.
- Similar effects can be used in optical fiber communications: a fiber-optic link consisting of a periodic arrangement of fibers with normal and anomalous dispersion can help to suppress nonlinear effects such as channel cross-talk via four-wave mixing, which can deteriorate the bit error rate. It is possible to suppress the Gordon–Haus timing jitter at the same time, if the average chromatic dispersion is zero.
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ section was generated with AI based on the article content and has been reviewed by the article’s author (RP).
What is the difference between dispersion management and dispersion compensation?
Dispersion compensation aims to cancel the chromatic dispersion of an optical element. Dispersion management is a broader term for actively tailoring the dispersion properties of a system to enhance its performance, which can go beyond simple cancellation.
How is dispersion management used in mode-locked lasers?
In mode-locked lasers, dispersion is managed to achieve shorter and more stable ultrashort pulses. For example, creating net anomalous dispersion enables soliton mode locking, while balancing normal and anomalous dispersion in fiber lasers allows for higher pulse energies.
Why is dispersion management important in fiber-optic communications?
In optical fiber communications, managing dispersion by alternating between fibers with normal and anomalous dispersion helps to suppress detrimental nonlinear effects like four-wave mixing. This improves signal quality and reduces the bit error rate.
Suppliers
Sponsored content: The RP Photonics Buyer's Guide contains six suppliers for dispersion management. Among them:
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Thorlabs manufactures a suite of options for dispersion management, including a pre-compensation module, dispersion compensating fiber, chirped mirrors, and low GDD optics. For ultrafast applications where dispersion must be well known and managed, Thorlabs’ portfolio includes a robust benchtop white light interferometer for characterizing reflective and transmissive dispersive properties of optics and coatings. Using two different detectors, the Chromatis™ dispersion measurement system is capable of measurements in the 500 — 1650 nm range, providing a means for measuring optics used in common femtosecond systems, including Ti:sapphire systems as well as 1 µm and 1550 nm oscillators. The Chromatis complements our ultrafast family of lasers, amplifiers, and specialized optics including nonlinear crystals, chirped mirrors, low GDD mirrors/beamsplitters, and dispersion compensating fiber.
Bibliography
| [1] | M. Nakazawa and H. Kuboto, “Optical soliton communication in a positively and negatively dispersion-allocated optical fibre transmission line”, Electron. Lett. 31, 216 (1995); doi:10.1049/el:19950159 |
|---|---|
| [2] | N. J. Smith et al., “Enhanced power solitons in optical fibres with periodic dispersion management”, Electron. Lett. 32, 54 (1996); doi:10.1049/el:19960062 |
| [3] | T. Yu et al., “Dispersion-managed soliton interactions in optical fibers”, Opt. Lett. 22 (11), 793 (1997); doi:10.1364/OL.22.000793 |
| [4] | A. Hasegawa et al., “Recent progress in dispersion-managed soliton transmission technologies”, Opt. Fiber Technol. 3 (3), 197 (1997); doi:10.1006/ofte.1997.0227 |
| [5] | V. S. Grigoryan and C. R. Menyuk, “Dispersion-managed solitons at normal average dispersion”, Opt. Lett. 23 (8), 609 (1998); doi:10.1364/OL.23.000609 |
| [6] | S. K. Turitsyn, “Breathing self-similar dynamics and oscillatory tails of the chirped dispersion-managed soliton”, Phys. Rev. E 58 (2), R1256 (1998); doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.58.R1256 |
| [7] | Y. Chen et al., “Dispersion-managed mode locking”, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 16 (11), 1999 (1999); doi:10.1364/JOSAB.16.001999 |
| [8] | A. Berntson and B. A. Malomed, “Dispersion management with filtering”, Opt. Lett. 24 (8), 507 (1999); doi:10.1364/OL.24.000507 |
| [9] | L. F. Mollenauer et al., “Demonstration of massive wavelength-division multiplexing over transoceanic distances by use of dispersion-managed solitons”, Opt. Lett. 25 (10), 704 (2000); doi:10.1364/OL.25.000704 |
| [10] | R. Ganapathy et al., “Soliton interaction under soliton dispersion management”, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 44 (4), 383 (2008); doi:10.1109/JQE.2007.914778 |
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