Highly birefrigent photonic crystal fiber with high negative dispersion for broadband dispersion compensation

In this paper, we proposed a dual-enhanced core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with high birefringence and ultra-high negative dispersion for dispersion compensation in a polarization maintained optical system. Using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, we presented dispersion compensating PCF (DC-PCF) with negative dispersion between −1650 ps nm⁻¹ km⁻¹ and −2305 ps nm⁻¹ km⁻¹ in C-band and particularly −2108 ps nm⁻¹ km⁻¹ in λ = 1.55 μm wavelength. By this method, we can compensate dispersion in 124 km long span of a conventional single mode fiber (SMF) by 1 km-long of the DC-PCF at λ = 1.55 μm wavelength. Moreover, fundamental mode of the proposed PCF can induce birefringence about 3.5 × 10⁻³ at 1.55 μm wavelength.     

Determination of the refractive index over a wide wavelength range through time-delay measurements of femtosecond pulses

We present a simple method to measure the refractive index dispersion over a broad wavelength range (0.6-1.6 μm). In a first step, the optical group indices are obtained by measuring the time-retardation of tunable 150 fs laser pulses within a sample relative to air. The refractive index dispersion is then calculated using a Sellmeier equation that describes the measured group index dispersion. We show that our experimental data agree with previously published results to within 2 × 10⁻⁴ for a 3 mm thick sample of fused silica and to within 3 × 10⁻³ for the index n₁ of a 2 mm thick crystal of the highly dispersive and anisotropic organic crystal 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4′-N′-methyl stilbazolium tosylate (DAST).     

Gain ripple minimization in fiber Raman amplifiers based on variational method

In this paper, the variational method is employed for minimizing the gain ripple of multi-wavelength fiber Raman amplifiers. The variance of gain spectrum of the fiber Raman amplifier is regarded as the cost function, restriction on total pump power and average gain is given as the constraints of the minimization problem. It is shown that the minimization problem with any necessary constraints on the pump powers, average gain and signal to noise ratio, is reduced to a two-point boundary value problem. The method gives the entire possible local and global solutions. The method is applied to different examples of fiber Raman amplifiers with different lengths from 25 km to 100 km and different numbers of pumps from 4 to 20 to determine the pump powers and wavelengths for minimum gain ripple. It was obtained for a 100 km fiber Raman amplifier the gain ripple can be about 0.1 dB with on-off gain more than 20 dB.     

An effective numerical method for gain profile optimizations of multi pumped fiber Raman amplifiers

In this paper, we have solved propagation equations of multi-pump fiber Raman amplifier using Runge–Kutta (RK 4th order) numerical method and pump power evolutions along with the fiber length. They are used to calculate the net gain and gain ripple by varying the input signals powers for different fiber lengths. The pump powers are optimized by genetic algorithm and resulting net gain and gain ripple are reported graphically as well as in tabular form. The optimum minimum gain ripple is 0.26 dB for 1 mW input signal powers for 50 km fiber length. By increasing the fiber length gain ripple increases to 0.5 dB for 0.1 mW input signal power. In comparison to other methods reported in the literature, our method is simple to implement and efficient for numerical design of Raman amplification in optical communication systems.     

Multi parameter optimization of Raman Fiber Amplifier using genetic algorithm for S band dense wavelength division multiplexed system

A simple genetic algorithm is implemented to perform multi parameter optimization of Raman Fiber Amplifier for 100 channel S band dense wavelength division multiplexed system at 25 GHz interval. A cost effective system using single Raman pump is investigated aiming at maximum average gain. The single counter propagating pump is optimized to frequency of 211.528 THz and 652.93 mW power level with optimum Raman fiber length of 44.064 Km. There is evidence to show that the optimum solution presents a small gain variation (less than 3 dB) over an effective bandwidth covering 197–199.475 THz. The optimized configuration enabled an adequate system performance in terms of acceptable Q-factor (19.52 dB) and BER (1.46 × 10⁻²¹).     

Design and characterization of single mode circular photonic crystal fiber for broadband dispersion compensation

In this paper, we present a single mode circular photonic crystal fiber (C-PCF) for broadband dispersion compensation covering 1400 to 1610 nm wavelength band over the telecommunication windows. Investigations of guiding properties are carried out using finite element method (FEM) with circular perfectly matched layer boundary condition. Numerical study reveals that a negative dispersion coefficient of about −386.57 to −971.44 ps/(nm km) is possible to obtain over the wavelength ranging from 1400 to 1610 nm with a relative dispersion slope (RDS) of about 0.0036 nm⁻¹ at 1550 nm wavelength. In addition, the single mode behaviour of C-PCF is demonstrated by employing V parameter. According to simulation, it is found that the proposed C-PCF acts as a single mode fiber within 1340 to 1640 nm wavelength. Moreover, effective dispersion, relative dispersion slope, birefringence and confinement loss are also presented and discussed.     

Determination of nonlinear coefficient and group-velocity-dispersion of bismuth-based high nonlinear optical fiber by four-wave-mixing

Nonlinear coefficient and group-velocity-dispersion of bismuth-based nonlinear fibers were determined by four-wave-mixing measurements. The wavelength dependence of refractive index of bulk bismuth-based glasses was also measured to estimate the material dispersion and waveguide dispersion. A newly developed bi-directional four-wave-mixing configuration enabled us to determine all fiber parameters simultaneously. The obtained fiber nonlinearity γ ∼ 1000 W⁻¹ km⁻¹ of bismuth-based nonlinear fiber is the highest one in the step-index fiber made of oxide glasses as expected from a high refractive index at 1550 nm. Dispersion analysis reveals that the both material dispersion and waveguide dispersion affect to the large group-velocity-dispersion of bismuth-based nonlinear fiber.     

Polarization maintaining holey fibers for residual dispersion compensation over S + C + L wavelength bands

We report on a highly birefringent holey fiber for broadband dispersion compensation covering the S, C, and L telecommunication bands i.e. wavelength ranging from 1460 to 1625 nm. The finite element method with circular perfectly matched layer boundary condition is used to investigate the guiding properties. Numerical analysis demonstrates that it is possible to obtain negative dispersion coefficient of about −470 to −850 ps/nm/km over S to L-bands and a relative dispersion slope perfectly matched with single mode fiber (SMF) of about 0.0036 nm⁻¹ at 1550 nm. At the same time birefringence of the order 2.53 × 10⁻² is realized at 1550 nm wavelength. Owing to superior optical properties of the proposed holey fiber, this can be a promising candidate for broadband dispersion compensation and sensing applications.     

Impact of 2OD and 3OD on SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalk in SCM-WDM optical transmission link

In this paper, the impact of second-order dispersion (2OD), third-order dispersion (3OD) and modulation frequency over stimulated Raman scattering (SRS)- and cross-phase modulation (XPM)-induced crosstalk in sub-carrier-multiplexed (SCM) wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) transmission link has been analyzed. It has been observed that there is significant effect of 2OD, 3OD and modulation frequency on the SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalk in a SCM-WDM transmission link. Here the results for SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalk have been reported with independent and combined higher-order dispersion. It has been observed that XPM-induced crosstalk lies between [−52.8 to −45.3] and [−94.7 to −78.6] dB in the presence of 2OD and 3OD respectively for modulation frequencies varied from 500 MHz to 2.0 GHz, while it is in the range of [−94.4 to −84] and [−128.5 to −117] dB when both SRS and XPM are taken into consideration.     

Maintaining single polarization and dispersion compensation with modified rectangular microstructure optical fiber

In this paper, we propose and numerically demonstrate a highly birefringent microstructure optical fiber which shows negative dispersion coefficient of about −288 to −550 ps/(nm km) covering S to L wavelength bands and −425 ps/(nm km) at the excitation wavelength 1550 nm. This proposed design successfully compensate the dispersion covering S to L communication bands ranging from 1460 to 1625 nm along with relative dispersion slope (RDS) perfectly matched to that of single mode fiber of about 0.0036 nm⁻¹. Apart from dispersion compensation, the designed MOF offers high birefringence of 2.94 × 10⁻² at 1550 nm and better compensation ratio with design simplicity due to circular air-holes in the fiber cladding.     

Design and analysis of novel highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibers with ultra-flattened chromatic dispersion

The present article describes novel highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibers (HN-PCFs) with flattened chromatic dispersion and low confinement losses. The proposed design has been simulated based on the finite-difference method with anisotropic perfectly matched layers absorbing boundary condition. It is proved that the design novel HN-PCFs is obtained a nonlinear coefficient greater than 45 W⁻¹ km⁻¹ and low dispersion slope −0.009 ps/(nm².km) at 1.55 μm wavelength. In addition, results from numerical simulation show that the ultra-flattened dispersion of 0 ± 0.65 ps/(nm.km) can be obtained in a 1.36-1.62 μm wavelength range with confinement losses lower than 10⁻⁷ dB/m in the same wavelength range. Another advantage of the proposed HN-PCFs is that it possessed modest number of design parameters.     

Refractive index, oscillator parameters and temperature-tuned energy band gap of Tl4In3GaS8-layered single crystals

Transmission and reflection measurements in the wavelength region 450-1100 nm were carried out on Tl₄In₃GaS₈-layered single crystals. The analysis of the room temperature absorption data revealed the presence of both optical indirect and direct transitions with band gap energies of 2.32 and 2.52 eV, respectively. The rate of change of the indirect band gap with temperature dE_gi/dT=-6.0×10⁻⁴ eV/K was determined from transmission measurements in the temperature range of 10-300 K. The absolute zero value of the band gap energy was obtained as E_gi(0)=2.44 eV. The dispersion of the refractive index is discussed in terms of the Wemple-DiDomenico single-effective-oscillator model. The refractive index dispersion parameters: oscillator energy, dispersion energy, oscillator strength and zero-frequency refractive index were found to be 4.87 eV, 26.77 eV, 8.48×10¹³ m⁻² and 2.55, respectively.     

Optimization of a Raman/EDFA hybrid amplifier based on dual-order stimulated Raman scattering using a single-pump

Based on dual-order stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of a single 1395 nm Raman fiber laser in 75 km single mode fiber and its corresponding dispersion compensation module, a hybrid Raman/Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) for long wavelength band (L-band) amplification is realized by inserting a segment of EDF within the span. By comparing the performance of gain and noise in four hybrid amplifiers with different span configurations, we find that the distribution of the secondary L-band amplification obtained from the EDF along the link has a great influence on the performance of the hybrid amplifier. Both gain and noise performance of hybrid amplifier can be improved significantly by optimizing the location of the EDF. Moreover, we can extend the flat gain bandwidth from L-band to central wavelength band (C-band) plus L-band by recycling the residual first-order SRS to pump a segment of EDF with proper length.     

Characterization of optical planar waveguide in Ce:KNSBN crystal formed by triple-energy helium ion implantation

We report on the optical planar waveguide formation and modal characterization in a Ce:KNSBN crystal by triple helium ion implantation at energies of (2.0, 2.2 and 2.4 MeV) and fluences of (1.5, 1.65 and 2.25) × 10¹⁵ cm⁻². The prism-coupling method is used to investigate the dark-line spectroscopy at wavelength of 632.8 and 1539 nm, respectively. The refractive index profiles of the waveguide are reconstructed by an effective refractive index method. It is found that the ion-beam irradiation creates slight increase of extraordinary index whilst decreases ordinary one in the guide region. The modal analysis shows, at wavelength of 632.8 nm, the fields of one TE and three TM modes are well restricted in the guiding region, which means the formation of non-leaky waveguide in the crystal. The damping coefficients of the waveguide are 0.6 and 1.6 cm⁻¹ for ordinary and extraordinary polarized light at 632.8 nm, respectively.     

Numerical design of high nonlinear coefficient of microstructure optical fibers

This paper presents a theoretical design of highly nonlinear microstructure optical fiber with dispersion-flat characteristics. The APSS™ 2.3 software based on the finite difference method with perfectly matched boundary conditions is used to simulate the properties of the proposed microstructure optical fiber. According to simulation, the proposed fiber warrants a high nonlinear coefficient of the order 41 W⁻¹ km⁻¹ and a low dispersion of 0.25 ps/nm/km at 1550 nm wavelength. It assumes a dispersion-flat characteristic of 0 ± 0.50 ps/nm/km in a 1450-1620 nm wavelength range centering 1550 nm wavelength with a modest number of design parameters.     

Optimization of Raman gain spectrum using Lagrangian multiplier method

Based on Lagrangian multiplier method (LMM), the gain spectrum of distributed multi-pump Raman amplifier (DMRA) is optimized. Beside of governing rate equations in Raman amplifiers, we consider two applicable constrains on cost function for optimizing the gain spectrum. Because of more accurate and controllable designing of DMRAs, a maximum power for each input pump wave is considered as well as average gain value as two constrains. LMM reduces the optimization problem with constrains to solve a two-point boundary value problem for each solution. This method is applied to minimizing gain ripple of full bandwidth (60 nm) a 100 Km Raman amplifier for different number of pumps.     

The application of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of structural changes in laser irradiated titanium dioxide materials

The use of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy to investigate the effect of exposure to high power laser radiation on the crystalline phases of TiO₂ has been investigated. Measurement of the changes, over several time integrals, in the Raman and anti-stokes Raman of TiO₂ spectra with exposure to laser radiation is reported. Raman and anti-stokes Raman provide detail on both the structure and the kinetic process of changes in crystalline phases in the titania material. The effect of laser exposure resulted in the generation of increasing amounts of the rutile crystalline phase from the anatase crystalline phase during exposure. The Raman spectra displayed bands at 144 cm⁻¹ (A1g), 197 cm⁻¹ (Eg), 398 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 515 cm⁻¹ (A1g), and 640 cm⁻¹ (Eg) assigned to anatase which were replaced by bands at 143 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 235 cm⁻¹ (2 phonon process), 448 cm⁻¹ (Eg) and 612 cm⁻¹ (A1g) which were assigned to rutile. This indicated that laser irradiation of TiO₂ changes the crystalline phase from anatase to rutile. Raman and anti-stokes Raman are highly sensitive to the crystalline forms of TiO₂ and allow characterisation of the effect of laser irradiation upon TiO₂. This technique would also be applicable as an in situ method for monitoring changes during the laser irradiation process.     

Refractive index measurement with long-period gratings arc-induced in pure-silica-core fibres

We have investigated the sensitivity of arc-induced long-period gratings to changes of ambient refractive index. Two pure-silica-core fibres with different cladding diameters and a standard fibre were used in this study. For a 6 × 10⁻³ change of the refractive index, a 240 pm shift of the resonant wavelength was achieved with long-period gratings written in the 125 μm cladding diameter pure-silica-core fibre.     

Deep ultraviolet femtosecond laser tuning of fiber Bragg gratings

A deep ultraviolet femtosecond laser operating at wavelength 258 nm was demonstrated to be effective in trimming fiber Bragg gratings in telecommunication fibers. A smooth tunable resonance wavelength shift of up to 0.52 nm has been observed, corresponding to a refractive index change of ∼5 × 10⁻⁴ after an accumulated laser fluence of 63.3 kJ/cm² at a single pulse fluence of 124 mJ/cm². The ultrafast laser enhancement of ultraviolet photosensitivity response and modification of anisotropic index profile in silica fiber is a powerful technique to precise control of the performance of fiber Bragg grating devices for applications in optical filtering and polarization mode dispersion management.     

Silicon donor and Stokes terahertz lasers

Two types of lasers based on hydrogen-like impurity-related transitions in bulk silicon operate at frequencies between 1 and 7 THz (wavelength range of 50-230 μm). These lasers operate under mid-infrared optical pumping of n-doped silicon crystals at low temperatures (<30 K). Dipole-allowed optical transitions between particular excited states of group-V substitutional donors are utilized in the first type of terahertz silicon lasers. These lasers have a gain ∼1-3 cm⁻¹ above the laser thresholds (>1 kW cm⁻²) and provide 10 ps-1 μs pulses with a few mW output power on discrete lines. Raman-type Stokes stimulated emission in the range 4.6-5.8 THz has been observed from silicon crystals doped by antimony and phosphorus donors when optically excited by radiation from a tunable infrared free electron laser. The scattering occurs on the 1s(E)→1s(A₁) donor electronic transition accompanied by an emission of the intervalley transverse acoustic g-phonon. The Stokes lasing has a peak power of a few tenths of a mW and a pulse width of a few ns. The Raman optical gain is about 7.4 cm GW⁻¹ and the optical threshold intensity is ∼100 kW cm⁻².