Characterizing Pulse Propagation in Optical Fibers around 1550 nm Using Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating

✍ Scribed by J.M. Dudley; L.P. Barry; P.G. Bollond; J.D. Harvey; R. Leonhardt

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 301 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1068-5200
• DOI: 10.1006/ofte.1998.0249

✦ Synopsis

The ultrashort pulse measurement technique of frequency-resolved opti-Ž . cal gating FROG has been used to characterize the propagation of picosecond pulses at wavelengths around 1550 nm in a variety of different optical fibers used in communications applications. In this paper, we review the use of the FROG technique for ultrashort pulse measurements, discussing in particular several practical issues of importance for accurate results at wavelengths around 1550 nm. We describe the use of FROG measurements to characterize pulse distortion in standard, dispersion-shifted, and erbiumdoped optical fiber, and show how they provide direct measurements of complex intensity and phase evolution arising from the interplay of fiber nonlinearity and dispersion. We also discuss the application of the FROG technique to accurately measure the dispersive and the nonlinear parameters of optical fibers, and we present results for standard single-mode fiber in good agreement with specifications. ᮊ 1998 Academic Press

I. INTRODUCTION

The accurate characterization of pulse propagation in optical fibers around 1550 nm is very important for the development of high-capacity, long-distance optical communication systems. More generally, the characterization of picosecond and sub-picosecond light pulses is a long-standing problem that dates back to the development of modelocked lasers and has consequently received a great deal of w x attention 1 . Usually, the measurement of ultrashort pulses of picosecond and sub-picosecond duration is carried out by separately measuring the intensity autocorrelation function and the optical power spectrum, but it is well known that 237