Remotely pumped optical distribution networks: a distributed amplifier model

Optical distribution networks using remotely pumped erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) with a single pump source at the head end can conveniently provide signal gain without adding to the power-consumption cost and management complexity of having multiple locally pumped EDFAs in densely populated metropolitan areas. We introduce an analytical model for understanding the basic physical foundations of remotely pumped network design and for analyzing the number of users that can be supported using such a remote-pumping scheme

Algebraic and geometric space-time analogies in nonlinear optical pulse propagation

We extend recently developed algebraic space time analogies for the dispersive and nonlinear propagation of optical breathers. Geometrical arguments can explain the similarity of evolutionary behavior between spatial and temporal phenomena even when strict algebraic translation of solutions may not be possible. This explanation offers a new set of tools for understanding and predicting the evolutionary structure of self-consistent Gaussian breathers in nonlinear optical fibers

Hamiltonian dynamics of breathers with third-order dispersion

We present a nonperturbative analysis of certain dynamical aspects of breathers (dispersion-managed solitons) including the effects of third-order dispersion. The analysis highlights the similarities to and differences from the well-known analogous procedures for second-order dispersion. We discuss in detail the phase-space evolution of breathers in dispersion-managed systems in the presence of third-order dispersion

Optical pulse propagation in the tight-binding approximation

We formulate the equations describing pulse propagation in a one-dimensional optical structure described by the tight binding approximation, commonly used in solid-state physics to describe electrons levels in a periodic potential. The analysis is carried out in a way that highlights the correspondence with the analysis of pulse propagation in a conventional waveguide. Explicit expressions for the pulse in the waveguide are derived and discussed in the context of the sampling theorems of finite-energy space and time signals

Nonparaxial spatial solitons and propagation-invariant pattern solutions in optical Kerr media

We investigate nonlinear propagation in the presence of the optical Kerr effect by relying on a rigorous generalization of the standard parabolic equation that includes nonparaxial and vectorial terms. We show that, in the (1+1)-D case, both soliton and propagation-invariant pattern solutions exist (while the standard hyperbolic-secant function is not a solution)

Nonlinear dispersion in a coupled-resonator optical waveguide

The propagation of an optical pulse in a coupled-resonator optical waveguide may be calculated nonperturbatively to all orders of dispersion, in the conventional tight-binding approximation, even though the dispersion relationship is nonlinear. Working in this framework, we discuss limits of the physical parameters and approximations to the exact formulation that highlight the conditions under which pulse distortion can be minimized. The results are fundamental to the design of coupled-resonator optical waveguides and are also relevant to other applications of the tight-binding method

Nonparaxial dark solitons in optical Kerr media

We show that the nonlinear equation that describes nonparaxial Kerr propagation, together with the already reported bright-soliton solutions, admits of (1 + 1)D dark-soliton solutions. Unlike their paraxial counterparts, dark solitons can be excited only if their asymptotic normalized intensity u²_infinity is below 3/7; their width becomes constant when u²_infinity approaches this value