Non-linear switching based on dual-core non-linear optical fiber couplers with XPM and Raman intrapulse applied to femtosecond pulse propagation

Abstract

In this work, we investigated the optical switching process for three shapes of femtosecond pulses (soliton, Gaussian and super-Gaussian) propagating inside a symmetrical dual-core non-linear directional coupler by simulating their propagation via the coupled non-linear Schrödinger equations. In all simulations, we considered the dispersive effects of second and third order, besides the self-phase modulation and self-steepening non-linear effects. We studied three scenarios for each of the three pulse shapes under investigation. In the first scenario, we added only cross-phase modulation (XPM); in the second approach, we added only Raman scattering; in the third one, we combined both. The study was performed for distinct polarization modes and for different values of the Raman factor, with power range varying from 1 to 300 W. We noted that the XPM non-linear effect results in a decrease in the critical power threshold, whereas the Raman scattering causes an increase. For the first scenario (only XPM effect), the critical power threshold reduced from 113.72 to 104.69 W for the soliton pulse, from 111.49 to 100.77 W for the Gaussian and from 92.79 to 80.47 W for the Super-Gaussian pulse shape. For the second scenario (only Raman scattering), the critical power increased for a Raman factor varying from 1 to 10 fs, and the three pulse shapes reached thresholds above 150 W from a 5 fs factor, reaching more than 200 W for the super-Gaussian pulse as the Raman factor increased. For the third scenario (with both effects combined), we highlight that for a fixed XPM factor of 2, the critical power remained unchanged with the variation of the Raman factor. Hence, we observed that the Super-Gaussian pulse reached lower values for critical power when compared to the other pulse shapes.