Abstract

Erbium-doped fiber amplifier technology allows multi-gigabit/second signals to be transmitted over transoceanic distances before requiring regeneration. Fiber dispersion, fiber nonlinearities, and amplifier noise, rather than fiber loss, now limit the capacity of these systems. One approach to increase the throughput of optically amplified systems is the use of soliton propagation. Here we report on a new and versatile optical pulse source that should prove ideal as a practical optical soliton generator.

© 1993 Optical Society of America