Abstract

The "soliton self frequency shift", a continuous down shift in optical frequency of the soliton, is a new and important nonlinear pulse propagation effect in optical fibers. It is caused by a Raman self pumping of the soliton, by which energy is transferred from the higher to the lower frequency parts of its spectrum. Shifts of 10% of the optical frequency have already been achieved, and more is possible. Thus the effect should allow the derivation, from a single laser, of synchronized pulses of two frequencies for pump-probe measurements of configurational relaxation and other ultrafast phenomena. The effect also has important implications for the use of ultrashort pulses in long distance fiber communications systems.

© 1986 Optical Society of America