Modulational instability in lossy optical fibers

Abstract

The modulational instability in an optical fiber, with loss taken into account, is analytically investigated. It is demonstrated how the linearized equation for perturbation can be solved exactly in terms of Bessel functions, and qualitative differences from previous analytic approaches are pointed out. Finally, the limits imposed by this instability on optical communication systems are discussed. The use of this theory in system design is examined.