By

Demissie Jobir Gelmecha (PhD.) 1

02/20/25
 Chapter 6: Non-linear effects in optical fiber
6.1 Introduction to Nonlinear effects
6.2 Origin of Nonlinear Effects
6.3 The Wave Equations
6.4 Self-Phase Modulation (SPM)
6.5 Cross-Phase Modulation (XPM)
6.6 Four-Wave Mixing (FWM)
6.7 Wavelength Converters
6.8 Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS)
6.9 Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS)
6.10 Solitons Propagation
6.11 Dispersion Compensation
6.1 Introduction to Nonlinear
effects

P (r, t )  0 [  (1)
E   (2 )
EE   EEE  ]
(3)
• The linear susceptibility represents the dominant contribution to P.

• The second-order susceptibility is nonzero only for media that lack

inversion symmetry at the molecular level.

• Since SiO2 is a symmetric molecule, it vanishes and optical fibers do

not exhibit second-order nonlinear effects.

• The lowest order nonlinear effects in optical fiber originate from

third order susceptibility , which is responsible for phenomena such
as third harmonic generation, four-wave mixing (FWM) and

nonlinear refraction.
6.2 Origin of Nonlinear Effects
 Fiber nonlinearities arise from the two basic mechanisms:

 The first mechanism, most of the nonlinear effects in optical

fibers originate from nonlinear refraction, a phenomenon that
refers to the intensity dependence of refractive index of silica
resulting from the contribution of third-order susceptibility. This
mechanism gives rise
to Kerr Effects.

 The second mechanism for generating nonlinearities in fiber is

the scattering phenomena. These mechanisms give rise to
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) and Stimulated Raman
Scattering (SRS).

 These are inelastic scattering processes where frequency of

scattered light is changed.
Mathematical Expression
• The refractive index of fiber core can be expressed either as
n( ,| E |2 ) n( )  n2 | E |2
n n0  n2 P / Aeff
where n0 is the linear part and n2 is the nonlinear index
coefficient related to by the relation 3 (3)
n2   xxx
8n
• P is the power of the light wave inside the fiber and Aeff
is the effective area of fiber core over which power is
distributed.
• The intensity dependence of refractive index of silica
leads to a large number of nonlinear effects, such as,
SPM, XPM and FWM (Kerr effects).
6.3 The Wave Equations
• One of the most important predictions of the Maxwell equations is the
existence of electromagnetic waves which can transport energy. The
simplest solutions are plane waves in infinite media, and we shall
explore these now. Like all electromagnetic phenomena, the
propagation of optical fields in fibers is governed by Maxwell’s
equations. In the International System of Units, these equations are
valued. &  &B
t
&
& D
H  J 
t
&
D  
&
B 0
 & 
E  B
t
 &
 ( 0 H )
t
2
&
  D
 ( 0 )
t t 2
2 &
 2
 0 ( 0 E  P)
t

& 2 2
 E   0 0 2 E   0 2 P
2

t t
Assume linear and homogenous

&   &

E ( r, w)   E ( r, t ) exp(iwt )dt

& 1 
 ( r, t ) exp(  iwt )dw
E ( r, t ) 
2 
E


  iw
t
 2 E 2 P M
E   2   2  
t t t
& 2 2
Vacuum - 2 E     E    P
0 0 2 0 2
t t

E (E)  2 E 21 2 E
 E  2 2
c t

1
c
 0 0

Linear and Homogeneous Medium - 1

v  (1   (1) ) 0 n 2 0
P (r, t )  0  E
(1)
0
n(ω) is often independent of the spatial coordinates in both the core
and the cladding of step-index fibers,
6.3.1 Helmholtz Wave Equation in Frequency Domain

2 E  ( )k02 E 0 (*)

3
 ( ) 1  xx (1) ( )   xxxx (3) | E |2
4
c 2
( n  i ) n 2  2nn
2
i
n n2 | E |2 
2k0

Equation (*) can be solved by using the method of separation of

variables. If we assume a solution of the form
E (r,   0 ) F ( x, y ) A( z ,   0 ) exp(i  0 z )

2 F 2 F
2
 2  [ ( ) k02   2 ]F 0 (*Transvers )
x y

A
2i  0  ( 2   02 ) A 0 (* Ampiluted )
z
6.3.2 Amplitude Wave Equation

A 2   02 2 0 (    0 )

2i  0  ( 2   02 ) A 0
z
 ( )  ( )   ( )
A  2   02 2 0  (  ( )   ( )   0 ) 
i[  ( )   ( )   0 ] A
z
1 1
 ( )  0  1 (  0 )   2 (  0 ) 2   3 (  0 )3 
2 6
1 1
 ( )  0  1 (  0 )   2 (  0 ) 2   3 (  0 )3 
2 6

1
1 
vg
The term with  includes the effect of fiber loss and nonlinearity. By using the above
equations one can obtain,
 2
k0  n F ( x, y ) dxdy i
   n n2 | E |2 
2
F ( x, y dxdy 2k0
  2
k0  n F ( x, y ) dxdy
  
2
F ( x, y dxdy
 2

2 
i F ( x, y ) dxdy
 k0  k0 n2 | A |  
2
2k0 F ( x, y dxdy i
n n2 | E |2 
i 0 1 2k0
   n2 | A |2 
2 c Aeff
6.3.3 Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation

A A i  2 A 1 3 A 
 1   2 2  3 3  A i | A |2 A
z t 2 t 6 t 2
6.3.4 Higher Order Nonlinear
Effects

A A 1  2 A 1 3 A     | A |2 
 1  i  2 2   3 3  A i  | A | A  ia1 A(| A | )  a2 A
2 2

z t 2 t 6 t 2  t t 

•Soliton Perturbation Theory

•Coupled NLS
•Dark Solitons – Normal Dispersion Regime
•Raman Pumping
 Why fiber nonlinearity is important in order to
design light wave system?
• Nonlinearity may arise for the following
reason/s:
High transmitting power

with small cross-section of fiber core

for long transmission distance

many channels to enhance system capacity

6.4 Self-Phase Modulation (SPM)
• Self-phase modulation (SPM) is due to the power dependence
of the refractive index of the fiber core.
• SPM refers the self-induced phase shift experienced by an optical
field during its propagation through the optical fiber;
change of phase shift of an optical field is given by

 n  n2 | E |2 k0 L L  NL

 where k0=2π/λ and L is fiber length. L is the linear part and NL
is the nonlinear part that depends on intensity.
 NL is the change of phase of the optical pulse due to the nonlinear
refractive index and is responsible for spectral broadening of the
pulse.
 Thus different parts of the pulse undergo different phase shifts,
which gives rise to chirping of the pulses. The SPM-induced chirp
affects the pulse broadening effects of dispersion.
6.5 Cross-Phase Modulation (XPM)
In Multi-channel systems, all the other interfering channels also
modulate the refractive index of the channel under consideration, and
therefore its phase. This effect is called XPM
XPM refers the nonlinear phase shift of an optical field induced by
propagating channels at different wavelengths; the nonlinear phase
shift be given as
NL n2 k0 L(| A1 | A1  2|
2 2
A2 | A1 )
  
SPM XPM

• where A1 and A2 are the electric fields of two optical waves

propagating through the same fiber with two different frequencies

• In XPM, two pulses travel down the fiber, each changing the refractive
index as the optical power varies.
• If these two pulses happen to overlap, they will introduce distortion
into the other pulses through XPM.
6.6 Four-Wave Mixing (FWM)
• In many nonlinear phenomena, the fiber plays a passive role
except for mediating the interaction among several optical
waves through a nonlinear response of bound electrons.

• Such processes are referred to as the parametric processes

as they originate from light-induced modulation of a
medium parameter such as refractive index.

• Nonlinear phenomena like harmonic generation, four-wave

mixing and parametric amplification fall into this category.
• Four-wave mixing (FWM) is caused by the nonlinear nature
of the refractive index of optical fiber itself.

• FWM effect is only observed in fiber optic communication

systems with multiple channels.

• FWM is a third-order parametric process in which three

waves of frequencies fi, fj and fk interact through third-
order susceptibility χ(3)
of fiber material and generate a fourth wave of frequency
fijk = fi fj fk ; i, j ≠ k
 6.7 Stimulated Raman Scattering
(SRS)
Similar to SBS except that a high frequency optical phonon rather
than acoustic phonon is generated in the scattering process.
 A part of incident light is converted to another optical beam
at a frequency downshifted by an amount determined by the
vibrational modes of the nonlinear medium.
 The incident light acts as pump for generating the frequency shifted
radiation called the Stokes wave
 In a quantum mechanical view, a photon of the incident light
is annihilated to create an optical phonon at the Stokes frequency and
another photon at a new frequency

 SRS can occur in both directions

 Scattered light is shifted in frequency about 13 THz

 SRS spectrum is wide over 20-30 THz

• Stimulated Raman scattering is an interaction between light waves and
the vibrational modes of silica molecules.
• Raman is an inelastic scattering of light by elementary excitations of
matter.
•

• Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) involves the incident of both

Stokes and laser photons as depicted in Fig. 1b.
• The result is the stimulation of an additional Stokes photon coherent
with the incident Stokes photons.
• Thus the Stokes photon field experiences gain. As in spontaneous
Raman scattering, SRS leaves the medium in excited state.
6.8 Stimulated Brillouin
•Scattering (SBS)
Stimulated Brillouin scattering arises when a strong optical signal
generates an acoustic wave that produces variations in the refractive index.

• Incident photon produces a phonon of acoustic frequency as well as a

scattered photon and thereby produces an optical frequency shift.
• It manifests through the generation of a backward propagating Stokes wave
that carries most of the input energy down-shifted from the frequency of
incident light wave by an amount determined by the nonlinear medium.
• It results in power loss at incident frequency
• SBS occurs only in backward direction

• Scattered light is down-shifted in frequency by 10 GHz.

•
• Definition: a nonlinear scattering effect involving acoustic phonons
• More specific term: spontaneous and stimulated Brillouin scattering.
• Brillouin scattering is an effect caused by the χ(3) nonlinearity of a
medium, specifically by that part of the nonlinearity which is the
delayed nonlinear response related to acoustic phonons.
• An incident photon can be converted into a scattered photon of
slightly lower energy, usually propagating in the backward direction,
and a phonon.
• The coupling of optical fields and acoustic waves occurs via
electrostriction.
6.9 Wavelength Converters
A wavelength converter is a device that convert data from one incoming wavelength to
another wavelength.

Wavelength converters

• Enable optical channels to be relocated.

• Achieved in optical domain by employing nonlinear phenomena.

Wavelength converters are useful components in WDM networks for three major
reasons.

1) Data may enter the network at a wavelength that is not

suitable for use within the network.
• 2) Wavelength converters may be needed within the network
to improve the utilization of the available wavelength on the
network link.

• 3) Wavelength converters may be needed at boundaries

between different networks if the different networks are
managed by different entities and these entities do not
coordinate the allocation of wavelength in their networks.

• Types of wavelength converters

a) Optoelectronic approach.
b) Optical gating - cross-gain modulation.
c) Four-wave mixing.
a) Optoelectronic approach.
•This is perhaps the simplest, most obvious, and most practical
method today to realize wavelength conversion.
•The input signal is first converted to electronic form, regenerated,
and then retransmitted using a laser at a different wavelength.

b) Optical gating - cross-gain modulation

•Optical gating makes use of an optical device whose characteristics
change with the intensity of an input signal.
• This change can be transferred to another un-modulated probe
signal at a different wavelength going through the device.
c) Four-wave mixing.
The four-wave mixing phenomenon that occurs because of
nonlinearities in the transmission medium can also be utilized to
realize wavelength conversion.
Four-wave mixing is usually an undesirable phenomenon in fibers.
• In four-wave mixing, three waves at frequencies f1, f2 and f3
produce
• a wave at the frequency f1 + f2 - f3 When
• f1 = fs (signal)
• f2 = f3 = fp (pump) => a new wave is produces at 2fp – fs
Four-wave mixing can be enhanced by using SOA to increase the
power levels.
Other wavelengths are filtered out.
8.10 Solitons Propagation
6.11 Dispersion Compensation
• The dispersion compensation fiber is currently the main technique in
long distance transmission.

• Standard fiber has 17 ps/nm/km.

• Dispersion Compensation (DCF) -100 ps/nm/km

• 100 km of standard fiber followed by 17 km of DCF

⇒ zero dispersion
• Proposed three different Dispersion compensation schemes
depending upon the positions of DCF:
i. Pre –compensation
ii.post-compensation
iii.symmetrical-compensation
• In pre-compensation scheme, the DCF is placed before the standard
single mode fiber (SSMF) to compensate the positive dispersion in
SSMF.

• In post-compensation, the DCF is placed after the SSMF to compensate

the positive dispersion in SSMF.

• In symmetrical-compensation, both the schemes (pre-,post-

compensation) are used.
Thank You