Abstract

Modulational instability (MI) in optical fibers is a nonlinear process in which a cw turns into high-repetition-rate pulses as a result of an interplay between the nonlinearity and anomalous dispersion.¹ MI can be induced by mixing two waves that propagate in the same direction, and the pulse repetition rate is fixed at the frequency difference between the two waves.¹ Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is another nonlinear effect in optical fibers. In a SBS fiber ring laser, pumping with large power can generate not only first SBS Stokes that circulates backward but also second SBS Stokes that circulates forward. We have achieved MI that is induced by mixing the pump light at 1.32 μm with the second Stokes light in a SBS fiber ring laser.

© 1990 Optical Society of America