Abstract

Soliton systems have developed rapidly since 1989 when it was shown that the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is effective in amplifying a soliton pulse in a dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF). It had been thought that a uniform lossless medium was indispensable for transmitting soliton pulses. However, new techniques were developed that allowed lumped amplifiers such as EDFAs to be used for soliton communication by introducing the concept of averaging. When the lumped amplifier spacing is shorter than the soliton period, a perturbed soliton remains stable and can propagate over long distances. This technique is called the average soliton or the dynamic soliton (1991-1993).

© 1996 Optical Society of America