Effect of initial frequency chirp on soliton-trapping switches

Abstract

The effect of initial linear frequency chirp in short pulses on soliton trapping in birefringent fibers is studied. It is found that positive initial chirp can enhance the interaction between pulses traveling in the two polarization axes of the fiber and thus can reduce the amplitude threshold for soliton trapping. However, at the same time, initially chirped pulses will broaden as they propagate along the fiber, which can diminish the maximum data transfer rate in a communication system. Therefore a compromise is necessary between achieving more effective soliton trapping and maintaining sufficiently narrow pulses.