Journal of Physical Chemistry & Biophysics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0398
ISSN: 2161-0398
Mario F S Ferreira
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Phys Chem Biophys
Nonlinear effects in optical fibers impose different limitations on the communications link, and an understanding of such effects is almost a prerequisite for actual light wave-system designers. On the other hand, they offer a variety of possibilities for all-optical signal processing, amplification and regeneration. Using conventional optical fibers for these applications, a length of several kilometres is usually required due to their relatively small nonlinear parameter (�?³~1.3W-1/km). Such long fibers pose some practical limitations, concerned namely with the size and stability of the system. The required fiber length is reduced to about 1 km using highly nonlinear silica fibers with a smaller effective mode area, and hence, a larger nonlinear parameter (�?³~11W-1/ km). A further reduction in fiber length by one order of magnitude has been achieved in recent years using nanowires and micro structured optical fibers with an extremely small effective mode area and significantly enhanced nonlinear characteristics. Another main advance was the production of highly nonlinear fibers using materials with a nonlinear refractive index higher than that of the silica glass, namely Lead Silicate, Tellurite, Bismuth glasses and Chalcogenide glasses. Using such fibers, the required fiber length for nonlinear processing can be dramatically reduced to the order of centimetres. In this paper we review the effects â�?�? both detrimental and potentially beneficial of optical nonlinearities both in conventional and in highly nonlinear fibers.
Email: mfernando@ua.pt