Optical solitons in graded-index multimode fibres

Solitons are non-dispersing localized waves that occur in diverse physical settings, including liquids, optical fibres, plasmas and condensed matter. They attract interest owing to their particle-like nature and are useful for applications such as in telecommunications. A variety of optical solitons have been observed, but versions that involve both spatial and temporal degrees of freedom are rare. Optical fibres designed to support multiple transverse modes offer opportunities to study wave propagation in a setting that is intermediate between single-mode fibre and free-space propagation. Here we report the observation of optical solitons and soliton self-frequency shifting in graded-index multimode fibre. These wave packets can be modelled as multicomponent solitons, or as solitons of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Solitons in graded-index fibres should enable increased data rates in low-cost telecommunications systems, are pertinent to space-division multiplexing, and can offer a new route to mode-area scaling for high-power lasers and transmission.

[1]  Ali H. Sayed,et al.  Fundamentals and challenges of optical multiple-input multiple-output multimode fiber links [Topics in Optical Communications] , 2007, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[2]  Yinchieh Lai,et al.  Spatio-temporal solitary pulses in graded-index materials with Kerr nonlinearity , 1995 .

[3]  A. Hasegawa,et al.  Self-confinement of multimode optical pulse in a glass fiber. , 1980, Optics letters.

[4]  C. Salomon,et al.  Formation of a Matter-Wave Bright Soliton , 2002, Science.

[5]  Srikanth Raghavan,et al.  Spatiotemporal solitons in inhomogeneous nonlinear media , 2000 .

[6]  A. Serga,et al.  Experimental observation of symmetry-breaking nonlinear modes in an active ring , 2003, Nature.

[7]  Joseph M Kahn,et al.  Compensation for multimode fiber dispersion by adaptive optics. , 2005, Optics letters.

[8]  G. Agrawal.  Fiber‐Optic Communication Systems , 2021 .

[9]  J. Kahn,et al.  Higher-Order Modal Dispersion in Graded-Index Multimode Fiber , 2009, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[10]  Frank W. Wise,et al.  Generation of Optical Spatiotemporal Solitons , 1999 .

[11]  Akira Hasegawa,et al.  Transmission of stationary nonlinear optical pulses in dispersive dielectric fibers. I. Anomalous dispersion , 1973 .

[12]  Liejia Qian,et al.  Generation of Optical Spatiotemporal Solitons , 1999 .

[13]  A. Osborne,et al.  Internal Solitons in the Andaman Sea , 1980, Science.

[14]  W. Ketterle,et al.  Bose-Einstein condensation , 1997 .

[15]  Yuri S. Kivshar,et al.  Optical Solitons: From Fibers to Photonic Crystals , 2003 .

[16]  Valérie Doya,et al.  Condensation and thermalization of classsical optical waves in a waveguide , 2011 .

[17]  J. Murray,et al.  Intensity averaging and four-wave mixing in Raman amplifiers , 1982 .

[18]  Kang,et al.  Observation of Manakov spatial solitons in AlGaAs planar waveguides. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[19]  B. Malomed,et al.  Spatiotemporal optical solitons , 2005 .

[20]  A. Tünnermann,et al.  Three-dimensional light bullets in arrays of waveguides. , 2010, Physical review letters.

[21]  N. Zabusky,et al.  Interaction of "Solitons" in a Collisionless Plasma and the Recurrence of Initial States , 1965 .

[22]  B. Crosignani,et al.  Soliton propagation in multimode optical fibers. , 1981, Optics letters.

[23]  Arash Mafi,et al.  Pulse Propagation in a Short Nonlinear Graded-Index Multimode Optical Fiber , 2012, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[24]  P. Winzer,et al.  Capacity Limits of Optical Fiber Networks , 2010, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[25]  Yuri S. Kivshar,et al.  Solitons in photonic crystals , 2003 .

[26]  A. A. Betin,et al.  Reproduction of the pumping wave in stimulated-scattering radiation , 1978 .

[27]  Stuart,et al.  Dispersive multiplexing in multimode optical fiber , 2000, Science.

[28]  Francesco Poletti,et al.  Description of ultrashort pulse propagation in multimode optical fibers , 2008 .

[29]  S Berdagué,et al.  Mode division multiplexing in optical fibers. , 1982, Applied optics.

[30]  J. Kahn,et al.  Principal Modes in Graded-Index Multimode Fiber in Presence of Spatial- and Polarization-Mode Coupling , 2009, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[31]  H. R. Stuart.  Dispersive multiplexing in multimode fiber , 2000, Optical Fiber Communication Conference. Technical Digest Postconference Edition. Trends in Optics and Photonics Vol.37 (IEEE Cat. No. 00CH37079).

[32]  McLeod,et al.  (3+1)-dimensional optical soliton dragging logic. , 1995, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[33]  N. Djeu,et al.  Amplification of a diffraction-limited Stokes beam by a severely distorted pump. , 1983, Optics letters.

[34]  Y. Silberberg,et al.  POLARIZATION EVOLUTION AND POLARIZATION INSTABILITY OF SOLITONS IN A BIREFRINGENT OPTICAL FIBER , 1997 .

[35]  M. Fermann,et al.  Single-mode excitation of multimode fibers with ultrashort pulses. , 1998, Optics letters.

[36]  James P. Gordon,et al.  Experimental observation of picosecond pulse narrowing and solitons in optical fibers (A) , 1980 .

[37]  Antonello Cutolo,et al.  Coupled-mode theory of nonlinear propagation in multimode and single-mode fibers: envelope solitons and self-confinement , 1982 .

[38]  Davide Janner,et al.  Self-focusing and nonlinear periodic beams in parabolic index optical fibres , 2004 .

[39]  L. Mollenauer,et al.  Discovery of the soliton self-frequency shift. , 1986, Optics letters.

[40]  Yuri S. Kivshar,et al.  Coupled photorefractive spatial-soliton pairs , 1997 .