Abstract

Using phase-sensitive parametric amplifiers (PSAs) has been suggested as a method for compensating loss in optical fibers.¹ Because PSAs add no spontaneous emission noise to a propagating signal, they lead to a theoretically higher bit-rate-distance product in comparison with erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs).² Furthermore, PSAs stabilize pulse propagation because they eliminate phase variations across the pulse’s profile, thus strongly attenuating dispersion and self-phase modulation.³-⁵ Note that when PSAs are employed both the zero solution and a non-zero pulse solution are asymptotically stable. This bistable behavior, of course, is particularly desirable in digital optical communication and storage systems.⁶

© 1998 Optical Society of America