Abstract

Optical fibers are the preferred laboratory to study the temporal nonlinear dynamics of light pulses. Recently it was demonstrated that also spatial nonlinear dynamics can be observed in coupled fiber bundles [1]. However, up to now there have been severe limitations for the observation of spatial effects due to the large intrinsic tolerances of the fiber fabrication process. Therefore, previous studies have concentrated on the interplay of the nonlinearity with the inherent disorder of the linear system. Here we present major improvements in this field, since we have been able to fabricate homogeneous fiber bundles, which allow us to study the clean spatial nonlinear dynamics of light. Furthermore, it becomes possible to observe the combined effects of temporal and spatial dynamics.

© 2007 IEEE