Optical Solitons in Fibers (Springer Tracts in Modern Physics (Hardcover))

Latest developments associated with two currently active and very important theoretical and practical topics in nonlinear optics, namely solitons and fibers, are considered in this volume. Solitons as analytical solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations were established in 1967, and only five years later Hasegawa and Tappert predicted for the first time theoretically that solitons could be generated in a dielectric fiber. In practical terms, this work, pursued mainly at the AT & T Bell Laboratories, points to technological advances allowing for an economic and undistorted propagation of signals which will revolutionize telecommunications. Starting from an elementary level readily accessible to undergraduates, the author, a pioneer in the field, provides a clear and up-to-date exposition of both the theoretical background and the most recent experimental results in this new and rapidly evolving field. This well-written book is well suited for undergraduate or graduate lecture courses, and makes easy reading not only for the researcher but also for the interested physicist, mathematician, and engineer Optical solitons in fibers are a beautiful example of how an abstract mathematical concept has had an impact on new information transmission technologies. The concept of all-optical data transmission with optical soliton systems is now setting the standard for the most advanced transmission systems. The book deals with the motion of light waves in optical fibers, the evolution of light wavepackets, optical information transfer, all-optical soliton transmission systems, the control of optical solitons, polarization effects, dispersion-managed solitons, WDM transmission, soliton lasers, all-optical switching and other applications. This book is a must for all researchers and graduate students active in the field of optical data transmission. Front Matter....Pages I-X Introduction....Pages 1-5 Wave Motion....Pages 6-12 Envelope of a light wave....Pages 13-30 Envelope solitons....Pages 31-34 Solitons in optical fibers....Pages 35-41 Amplification of a soliton—application to the optical soliton transmission system....Pages 42-47 Other applications of optical solitons....Pages 48-50 Influence of higher order terms....Pages 51-55 Modulational Instability....Pages 56-62 Dark solitons....Pages 63-66 Summary....Pages 67-67 Back Matter....Pages 68-75