U.S. patent application number 12/195839 was filed with the patent office on 2008-12-25 for nonlinear optical fiber, nonlinear optical device, and optical signal processing apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Jiro Hiroishi, Ryuichi Sugizaki, Masanori Takahashi, Yuki TANIGUCHI.
Application Number | 20080317418 12/195839 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38437376 |
Filed Date | 2008-12-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080317418 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TANIGUCHI; Yuki ; et
al. |
December 25, 2008 |
NONLINEAR OPTICAL FIBER, NONLINEAR OPTICAL DEVICE, AND OPTICAL
SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS
Abstract
A core includes a center core region, a core layer that is
formed around the center core region and that has a refractive
index lower than that of the center core layer, and at least one
buffer core layer that is formed between the center core region and
the core layer and that has a refractive index lower than that of
the center core region and higher than that of the core layer. A
cladding is formed around the core layer and that has a refractive
index lower than that of the center core region and higher than
that of the core layer. An effective core area at a wavelength of
1550 nm is equal to or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2.
Inventors: |
TANIGUCHI; Yuki; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Hiroishi; Jiro; (Tokyo, JP) ; Takahashi;
Masanori; (Tokyo, JP) ; Sugizaki; Ryuichi;
(Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON, SPIVAK, MCCLELLAND MAIER & NEUSTADT, P.C.
1940 DUKE STREET
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
The Furukawa Electric Co.,
Ltd.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
38437376 |
Appl. No.: |
12/195839 |
Filed: |
August 21, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/JP2007/053098 |
Feb 20, 2007 |
|
|
|
12195839 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
385/122 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 6/03688 20130101;
G02B 6/03644 20130101; G02B 6/02271 20130101; G02B 6/03627
20130101; G02B 6/0286 20130101; G02B 6/02028 20130101; G02F 1/365
20130101; G02B 6/02257 20130101; G02B 6/02242 20130101; G02B 6/0365
20130101; G02B 6/0281 20130101; G02B 6/03672 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
385/122 |
International
Class: |
G02B 6/00 20060101
G02B006/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 21, 2006 |
JP |
2006-044495 |
Claims
1. A nonlinear optical fiber comprising: a core including a center
core region, a core layer that is formed around the center core
region and that has a refractive index lower than a refractive
index of the center core layer, and at least one buffer core layer
that is formed between the center core region and the core layer
and that has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of
the center core region and higher than the refractive index of the
core layer; and a cladding that is formed around the core layer and
that has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the
center core region and higher than the refractive index of the core
layer, wherein an effective core area at a wavelength of 1550
nanometers is equal to or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2.
2. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the
core further includes an additional core layer that is formed
between the core layer and the cladding and that has a refractive
index higher than the refractive index of the cladding.
3. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
ratio of an outer diameter of the buffer core layer to a diameter
of the center core region is equal to or larger than 1.2 and equal
to or smaller than 2.0.
4. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
relative refractive index difference between the center core region
and the cladding is equal to or larger than 1.8%.
5. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
ratio of an outer diameter of the core layer to a diameter of the
center core region is equal to or larger than 2.5.
6. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
relative refractive index difference between the core layer and the
cladding is equal to or larger than -1.2% and equal to or smaller
than -0.2%.
7. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
relative refractive index difference between the buffer core layer
and the cladding is equal to or larger than 0.1% and equal to or
smaller than 0.6%.
8. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
variation range of wavelength dispersion in a longitudinal
direction at the wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or
smaller than 1 ps/nm/km per a length of 1 kilometer.
9. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
variation range of zero dispersion wavelength in a longitudinal
direction is equal to or smaller than 30 nanometers per a length of
1 kilometer.
10. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein an
absolute value of wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of 1550
nanometers is equal to or smaller than 5 ps/nm/km.
11. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 10, wherein an
absolute value of wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of 1550
nanometers is equal to or smaller than 1 ps/nm/km.
12. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 10, wherein a
variation of the wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of 1550
nanometers when an outer diameter of the core layer is changed by
1% is equal to or smaller than 0.7 ps/nm/km in a range where the
absolute value of the wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of
1550 nanometers is equal to or smaller than 5 ps/nm/km.
13. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein an
absolute value of wavelength dispersion slope at the wavelength of
1550 nanometers is equal to or larger than 0.02 ps/nm.sup.2/km and
equal to or smaller than 0.06 ps/nm.sup.2/km, a nonlinear
coefficient at the wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or
larger than 40.times.10 .sup.-10/W, a cutoff wavelength is shorter
than 1500 nanometers, and a polarization mode dispersion at the
wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or smaller than 0.2
ps/km.sup.1/2.
14. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
transmission loss at the wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to
or smaller than 1.5 dB/km.
15. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, further
comprising a stress applying member provided on both sides of the
cladding sandwiching the core.
16. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein a
polarization crosstalk at the wavelength of 1550 nanometers is
equal to or smaller than -20 decibels per a length of 100
meters.
17. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein an
outer diameter of the cladding is equal to or smaller than 100
micrometers.
18. The nonlinear optical fiber according to claim 1, further
comprising a coating formed around the cladding, wherein an outer
diameter of the coating is equal to or smaller than 150
micrometers.
19. A nonlinear optical device comprising: an optical input unit
that inputs a light; an optical output unit that outputs a light;
and a nonlinear optical fiber provided between the optical input
unit and the optical output unit, wherein the nonlinear optical
fiber includes a core including a center core region, a core layer
that is formed around the center core region and that has a
refractive index lower than a refractive index of the center core
layer, and at least one buffer core layer that is formed between
the center core region and the core layer and that has a refractive
index lower than the refractive index of the center core region and
higher than the refractive index of the core layer, and a cladding
that is formed around the core layer and that has a refractive
index lower than the refractive index of the center core region and
higher than the refractive index of the core layer, an effective
core area at a wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or smaller
than 18 .mu.m.sup.2, and the nonlinear optical fiber causes a
nonlinear optical phenomenon to be generated by the light input
from the optical input unit and outputting a light obtained by the
nonlinear optical phenomenon to the optical output unit.
20. An optical signal processing apparatus comprising: an optical
signal input unit that inputs an optical signal; an optical signal
processing unit that includes a nonlinear optical fiber, and
performs a signal processing of the optical signal input from the
optical signal input unit by using a nonlinear optical phenomenon
generated in the nonlinear optical fiber; and an optical signal
output unit that outputs the optical signal that is signal
processed, wherein the nonlinear optical fiber includes a core
including a center core region, a core layer that is formed around
the center core region and that has a refractive index lower than a
refractive index of the center core layer, and at least one buffer
core layer that is formed between the center core region and the
core layer and that has a refractive index lower than the
refractive index of the center core region and higher than the
refractive index of the core layer, and a cladding that is formed
around the core layer and that has a refractive index lower than
the refractive index of the center core region and higher than the
refractive index of the core layer, and an effective core area at a
wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or smaller than 18
.mu.m.sup.2.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of PCT/JP2007/053098
filed on Feb. 20, 2007, the entire content of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a nonlinear optical fiber,
a nonlinear optical device employing the nonlinear optical fiber,
and an optical processing apparatus employing the nonlinear optical
fiber.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In recent years, with an increase of the Internet traffic, a
further increase of the speed and the capacity of the information
communication using an optical fiber communication system has been
highly demanded. In order to realize the high speed and the large
capacity of the information communication, it is required to
increase the speed of the optical signal processing technology and
to broaden the bandwidth of the optical amplification technology,
which is used in the optical fiber communication system.
[0006] As a conventional optical signal processing technology, it
is common to convert an optical signal into an electrical signal,
perform a signal processing on the electrical signal that is
converted from the optical signal with an electrical device, and
convert the electrical signal on which the signal processing is
performed back into the optical signal. In this method, because the
optical signal has to be once converted into the electrical signal,
the speed of the signal processing is limited by a response speed
of the electrical device. However, considering the recently
demanded signal processing speed, the response speed of the
conventional electrical device is reaching the end of its
capability.
[0007] At the same time, a lot of attention is paid to an
all-optical signal processing technology in which an optical signal
is processed as it is. In the all-optical signal processing
technology, the optical signal is directly processed with an
optical device without being converted into an electrical signal.
Because the response speed of the optical device is even higher
than the response speed of the electrical device, the all-optical
signal processing technology can expedite the increase of the
signal processing speed.
[0008] An example of the optical device used in the all-optical
signal processing technology is a nonlinear optical device that
uses a nonlinear optical phenomenon occurred in an optical fiber
that transmits the optical signal. The nonlinear optical device
using the nonlinear optical phenomenon occurred in the optical
fiber can process the optical signal in a high speed because the
nonlinear optical phenomenon shown a high-speed response, and at
the same time, can reduce loss of the optical signal because the
optical fiber has a low transmission loss. For this reason,
attention is particularly focused on the all-optical signal
processing technology recently, and its application to an optical
signal processing apparatus is presently being studied.
[0009] Examples of the nonlinear optical phenomenon include
four-wave mixing (FWM), self-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase
modulation (XPM), stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and
stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). Among these nonlinear optical
phenomena, the FWM is used in a wavelength converter, an optical
parametric amplifier (OPA), and the like. Also, optical signal
processing technologies such as a pulse compression, a waveform
shaping, and the like using the SPM have already been reported
(see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open
Publication No. 2004-117590 and Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open Publication No. 2005-301009).
[0010] In order to realize the nonlinear optical device using such
nonlinear optical phenomena occurred in the optical fiber, it is
essential to realize an optical fiber having a capability of
generating the nonlinear optical phenomena with high efficiency,
that is, a nonlinear optical fiber having high optical
nonlinearity. A method of increasing the optical nonlinearity of
the optical fiber is, for example, to decrease the effective core
area A.sub.eff of the optical fiber by increasing the relative
refractive index difference between the core and the cladding.
Examples of the nonlinear optical fiber having high optical
nonlinearity are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent
Application Laid-open Publication No. 2002-207136 and Japanese
Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2003-177266.
[0011] In order to use the FWM or the SPM efficiently, it is
necessary to use a nonlinear optical fiber not only having high
optical nonlinearity but also having stable wavelength dispersion
characteristics in a direction the optical signal propagates
through the optical fiber, i.e., the longitudinal direction of the
optical fiber. Especially when using the FWM, it is important that
the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal
direction of the nonlinear optical fiber should be small and stable
to keep the efficiency of generating the FWM over a long distance.
The wavelength dispersion characteristics of the optical fiber are
mainly determined by a structure of the core and the cladding and a
refractive index profile of the optical fiber.
[0012] However, in a conventional optical fiber, because the
diameter of the core varies along the longitudinal direction of the
optical fiber due to a fluctuation of the manufacturing conditions
at the time of manufacturing the optical fiber, it is difficult to
manufacture an optical fiber having stable wavelength dispersion
characteristics in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber.
In particular, in nonlinear optical fibers having the refractive
index profiles disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open
Publication No. 2002-207136 and Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open Publication No. 2003-177266, there is a large change in
the wavelength dispersion with a change of the diameter of the
core, although they have high optical nonlinearity. Therefore, it
is difficult to manufacture a nonlinear optical fiber having stable
wavelength dispersion characteristics in the longitudinal direction
of the fiber with the refractive index profiles disclosed in
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2002-207136
and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No.
2003-177266.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] It is an object of the present invention to at least
partially solve the problems in the conventional technology.
[0014] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a nonlinear optical fiber including a core that includes a
center core region, a core layer that is formed around the center
core region and that has a refractive index lower than a refractive
index of the center core layer, and at least one buffer core layer
that is formed between the center core region and the core layer
and that has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of
the center core region and higher than the refractive index of the
core layer; and a cladding that is formed around the core layer and
that has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the
center core region and higher than the refractive index of the core
layer. An effective core area at a wavelength of 1550 nm is equal
to or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2.
[0015] Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a nonlinear optical device including
an optical input unit that inputs a light; an optical output unit
that outputs a light; and a nonlinear optical fiber provided
between the optical input unit and the optical output unit. The
nonlinear optical fiber includes a core including a center core
region, a core layer that is formed around the center core region
and that has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of
the center core layer, and at least one buffer core layer that is
formed between the center core region and the core layer and that
has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the
center core region and higher than the refractive index of the core
layer, and a cladding that is formed around the core layer and that
has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the
center core region and higher than the refractive index of the core
layer. An effective core area at a wavelength of 1550 nanometers is
equal to or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2. The nonlinear optical
fiber causes a nonlinear optical phenomenon to be generated by the
light input from the optical input unit and outputting a light
obtained by the nonlinear optical phenomenon to the optical output
unit.
[0016] Moreover, according to still another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided an optical signal processing apparatus
including an optical signal input unit that inputs an optical
signal; an optical signal processing unit that includes a nonlinear
optical fiber, and performs a signal processing of the optical
signal input from the optical signal input unit by using a
nonlinear optical phenomenon generated in the nonlinear optical
fiber; and an optical signal output unit that outputs the optical
signal that is signal processed. The nonlinear optical fiber
includes a core including a center core region, a core layer that
is formed around the center core region and that has a refractive
index lower than a refractive index of the center core layer, and
at least one buffer core layer that is formed between the center
core region and the core layer and that has a refractive index
lower than the refractive index of the center core region and
higher than the refractive index of the core layer, and a cladding
that is formed around the core layer and that has a refractive
index lower than the refractive index of the center core region and
higher than the refractive index of the core layer. An effective
core area at a wavelength of 1550 nanometers is equal to or smaller
than 18 .mu.m.sup.2.
[0017] The above and other objects, features, advantages and
technical and industrial significance of this invention will be
better understood by reading the following detailed description of
presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered
in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of a
nonlinear optical fiber according to a first embodiment of the
present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the refractive index
profile of the nonlinear optical fiber according to the first
embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.C
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a table of a result of comparing values of
wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D.sub.0 when Ra11 and Ra12 are
changed with parameters other than the Ra11 and the Ra12 fixed,
where .DELTA.11 is set to 3.0;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a table of a result of comparing values of
wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D.sub.0 when Ra11 and Ra12 are
changed with parameters other than the Ra11 and the Ra12 fixed,
where .DELTA.11 is set to 2.4;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a table of a result of comparing values of
wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D.sub.0 when Ra11 and Ra12 are
changed with parameters other than the Ra11 and the Ra12 fixed,
where .DELTA.11 is set to 1.8;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a table of a result of a case where .DELTA.12 is
different from that used the case shown in FIG. 6;
[0026] FIG. 9 is a table of a result of a case where .DELTA.12 is
different from that used the case shown in FIG. 6;
[0027] FIG. 10 is a table of a result of a case where .DELTA.14 is
changed in the case shown in FIG. 5;
[0028] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the refractive index
profile of a conventional-type nonlinear optical fiber;
[0029] FIG. 12 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0030] FIG. 13 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0031] FIG. 14 is a table of characteristics of nonlinear optical
fibers according to embodiment examples 1 to 6 of the present
invention;
[0032] FIG. 15 is a graph showing a result of measuring variation
of wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents wavelength dispersion;
[0033] FIG. 16 is a graph showing a result of measuring variation
of zero dispersion wavelength in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents zero dispersion wavelength;
[0034] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of a
nonlinear optical fiber according to a second embodiment of the
present invention;
[0035] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of the refractive index
profile of the nonlinear optical fiber according to the second
embodiment of the present invention;
[0036] FIG. 19 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0037] FIG. 20 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0038] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of the refractive index
profile of a conventional-type nonlinear optical fiber;
[0039] FIG. 22 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0040] FIG. 23 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter of a core layer is changed by 1% near a
point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km;
[0041] FIG. 24 is a table showing characteristics of nonlinear
optical fibers according to embodiment examples 7 to 9 of the
present invention;
[0042] FIG. 25 is a graph showing a result of measuring variation
of wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents wavelength dispersion;
[0043] FIG. 26 is a graph showing a result of measuring variation
of zero dispersion wavelength in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents zero dispersion wavelength;
[0044] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of a
nonlinear optical fiber according to a third embodiment of the
present invention;
[0045] FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of the refractive index
profile of the nonlinear optical fiber according to the third
embodiment of the present invention;
[0046] FIG. 29 is a table showing characteristics of nonlinear
optical fibers according to embodiment examples 10 to 12 of the
present invention;
[0047] FIG. 30 is a graph showing a result of measuring variation
of wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents wavelength dispersion;
[0048] FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of a nonlinear optical device
according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and
[0049] FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram of an optical signal
processing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0050] Exemplary embodiments of a nonlinear optical fiber according
to the present invention will be explained in detail below with
reference to the accompanying drawings. In the explanation of the
drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same
structural elements. It should be mentioned that the present
invention is not to be considered limited to the embodiments.
[0051] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of a
nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to the first embodiment of the
present invention; and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the
refractive index profile of the nonlinear optical fiber 10. As
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to
the first embodiment of the present invention includes a core 15
and a cladding 16. The core 15 includes a center core region 11, a
core layer 12 that is formed around the center core region 11 and
that has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the
center core region 11, and a buffer core layer 14 that is formed
between the center core region 11 and the core layer 12 and that
has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the
center core region 11 and higher than the refractive index of the
core layer 12. The cladding 16 is formed around the core layer 12,
having a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the
center core region 11 and higher than the refractive index of the
core layer 12. The effective core area at a wavelength of 1550 nm
is equal to or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2. The nonlinear optical
fiber 10 further includes a coating 17 that is formed around the
cladding 16.
[0052] The core 15 and the cladding 16 are formed with SiO.sub.2
glass-based material. As for the core 15, a desired shape of the
refractive index profile can be obtained by controlling a doping
amount of a dopant for adjusting the refractive index, such as
GeO.sub.2 or F element, and a distribution of the doping amount in
radial direction. At this moment, the refractive index can be
increased by doping GeO.sub.2, and decreased by doping F element.
On the other hand, as for the cladding 16, it is formed
substantially with the pure SiO.sub.2 glass; however, a
predetermined refractive index still can be obtained by doping a
dopant for adjusting the refractive index, such as GeO.sub.2 or F
element. The fact that it is formed substantially with the pure
SiO.sub.2 glass means that a dopant for adjusting the refractive
index is not contained, and some elements that does not have an
influence on the refractive index, such as Cl element, can still be
contained. In general, the coating 17 is formed with two-layer
ultraviolet-curable resin.
[0053] The outer diameter of the cladding 16 is typically 125
.mu.m; however, it can be reduced to equal to or smaller than 100
.mu.m. In this case, a roll diameter can be reduced when winding
the nonlinear optical fiber 10 on a bobbin and the like. The outer
diameter of the coating 17 is typically 250 .mu.m; however, it can
be reduced to equal to or smaller than 150 .mu.m by reducing the
outer diameter of the cladding. In this case, the volume of the
nonlinear optical fiber 10 can be reduced. Therefore, a
compact-sized nonlinear optical device can be realized by winding
the nonlinear optical fiber 10 on a small-diameter bobbin and
packing them in a case.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 2, in the nonlinear optical fiber 10, the
center core region 11 has a diameter d11, a refractive index
profile 11a, and a maximum refractive index nc11. The core layer 12
has an outer diameter d12, a refractive index profile 12a, and a
minimum refractive index nc12. The buffer core layer 14 has an
outer diameter d14, a refractive index profile 14a, and a minimum
refractive index nc14. The cladding 16 has a refractive index
profile 16a and a refractive index nC110 In this figure, ng is the
refractive index of the pure SiO.sub.2 glass.
[0055] The profile parameters characterizing the refractive index
profile of the nonlinear optical fiber 10 will be defined. Firstly,
a ratio d11/d12 of the diameter d11 of the center core region 11 to
the outer diameter d12 of the core layer 12 is defined as Ra11, and
a ratio d14/d12 of the diameter d14 of the buffer core layer 14 to
the outer diameter d12 of the core layer 12 is defined as Ra12.
Secondly, the maximum relative refractive index difference between
the center core region 11 and the cladding 16 is defined as
.DELTA.11, the minimum relative refractive index difference between
the core layer 12 and the cladding 16 is defined as .DELTA.12, and
the maximum relative refractive index difference between the buffer
core layer 14 and the cladding 16 is defined as .DELTA.14. The
maximum relative refractive index difference of the cladding with
respect to the refractive index of the substantially pure SiO.sub.2
glass is defined as .DELTA.clad. If the cladding is formed
substantially with the SiO.sub.2 glass, .DELTA.clad is 0%. In the
specification, .DELTA.11, .DELTA.12, .DELTA.14, and .DELTA.clad are
defined by Equations (1) to (4).
.DELTA.11=[(nc11-nc110)/nc11].times.100(%) (1)
.DELTA.12=[(nc12-nc110)/nc12].times.100(%) (2)
.DELTA.14=[(nc14-nc110)/nc14].times.100(%) (3)
.DELTA.clad=[(nc110-ng)/nc110].times.100(%) (4)
[0056] In the nonlinear optical fiber 10, the ratio of the outer
diameter of the buffer core layer 14 with respect to the diameter
of the center core region 11, i.e., d14/d11, is equal to or larger
than 1.2 and equal to or smaller than 2.0. The value of .DELTA.11
is equal to or larger than 1.8%, and more preferably, equal to or
larger than 2.2%. The ratio of the outer diameter of the core layer
12 with respect to the diameter of the center core region 11, i.e.,
d12/d11, is equal to or larger than 2.5, and more preferably, equal
to or larger than 3.0. The value of .DELTA.12 is equal to or larger
than -1.2% and equal to or smaller than -0.2%, and more preferably,
equal to or larger than -1.2% and equal to or smaller than -0.4%.
The value of .DELTA.14 is equal to or larger than 0.1% and equal to
or smaller than 0.6%, and more preferably, equal to or larger than
0.3% and equal to or smaller than 0.6%.
[0057] The center core region 11 and the buffer core layer 14 have
so-called .alpha.-type refractive index profiles with .alpha.
values of .alpha.11 and .alpha.14, respectively. The .alpha. value
is an index representing the shape of the refractive index, which
is defined by Equations (5) and (6). As the .alpha. value
increases, the center portion of the refractive index profile of
the core becomes round, i.e., it shifts from a triangular shape to
a rectangular shape.
n.sup.2(r)=nc11.sup.2{1-2(.DELTA.11/100)(2r/d11){circumflex over
(0)}.alpha.11} (5)
where 0.ltoreq.r<d11/2.
n.sup.2(r)=nc14.sup.2{1-2(.DELTA.14/100)((r-r14max)/(d14/2-r14max)){circ-
umflex over (0)}.alpha.14} (6)
where r14max.ltoreq.r<d14/2.
[0058] In the Equations (5) and (6), r is a position from the
center of the optical fiber in the radial direction. The parameter
r14max is a position from the center of the optical fiber in the
radial direction at a point where the relative refractive index
difference with respect to the cladding 16 has the maximum value in
the range of d11/2.ltoreq.r<d14/2, and when r14max is not at a
single point but exists across a wide range, its center point is
taken. In FIG. 2, r14max=d11/2. n(r) is the refractive index at the
point r, and the symbol "{circumflex over (0)}" is a symbol
representing an exponential.
[0059] As for the transmission characteristics of the nonlinear
optical fiber 10, the cutoff wavelength is set to be shorter than
1500 nm in order to transmit a signal light of a wavelength equal
to or longer than 1500 nm in single mode. Because the variation
range of zero dispersion wavelength in the longitudinal direction
is equal to or narrower than 30 nm per a length of 1 km, and the
variation range of wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal
direction at the wavelength of 1550 nm is equal to or smaller than
1 ps/nm/km per a length of 1 km, the wavelength dispersion
characteristic is kept stable even when the length of the optical
fiber is increased, so that the nonlinear optical phenomena can be
used with high efficiency. Furthermore, because the absolute value
of the wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of 1550 nm is equal
to or smaller than 5 ps/nm/km, and more preferably, equal to or
smaller than 1 ps/nm/km, the generation efficiency of the nonlinear
optical phenomena such as the FWM is high. Moreover, because the
variation of the wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of 1550 nm
when the outer diameter of the core layer 12 is changed by 1% is
equal to or smaller than 0.7 ps/nm/km in a range where the absolute
value of the wavelength dispersion at the wavelength of 1550 nm is
equal to or smaller than 5 ps/nm/km, the optical fiber has a small
absolute value of the wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal
direction with stability. In addition, because the absolute value
of the wavelength dispersion slope at the wavelength of 1550 nm is
equal to or larger than 0.02 ps/nm.sup.2/km and equal to or smaller
than 0.06 ps/nm.sup.2/km, the optical fiber has a small absolute
value of the wavelength dispersion across a broad wavelength
bandwidth. Furthermore, because the transmission loss at the
wavelength of 1550 nm is equal to or smaller than 1.5 dB/km, the
optical loss is small and the generation efficiency of the
nonlinear optical phenomena is high. Moreover, because the
polarization mode dispersion at the wavelength of 1550 nm is equal
to or smaller than 0.2 ps/km.sup.1/2, even when the signal light is
a short optical pulse, the degradation of the pulse waveform is
suppressed during propagating through the optical fiber. In
addition, the nonlinear coefficient at the wavelength of 1550 nm is
equal to or larger than 40.times.10.sup.-10/W, the generation
efficiency of the nonlinear optical phenomena is high.
[0060] In the specification, the cutoff wavelength (.lamda..sub.c)
means the fiber cutoff wavelength defined in the ITU-T
(International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication
Standardization Sector) G. 650.1. Other terminologies not
specifically defined in the specification comply with the
definitions and the measurement methods in the ITU-T G. 650.1. In
addition, the nonlinear coefficient (n.sub.2/A.sub.eff) used in the
specification is a value measured by the XPM method.
[0061] The characteristics of the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment will be explained with a
simulation result. The first thing to be explained is a
relationship between the refractive index profile of the nonlinear
optical fiber and wavelength dispersion stability in the
longitudinal direction. The wavelength dispersion stability in the
longitudinal direction means how much the wavelength dispersion
changes when the diameter of the core changes in the longitudinal
direction, and it can be estimated by a change of the wavelength
dispersion with respect to a change of the diameter of the
core.
[0062] Regarding the nonlinear optical fiber 10 having the
refractive index profile shown in FIG. 2, a change of the
wavelength dispersion with the change of the diameter of the core
15 is calculated by simulation from the electric field distribution
of a propagating light. In this simulation, the diameter of the
core 15 is changed by changing the outer diameter d12 of the core
layer 12 while fixing Ra11 and Ra12, which are the ratio of the
diameter d11 of the center core region 11 to the outer diameter d12
of the core layer 12 and the ratio of the outer diameter d14 of the
buffer core layer 14 to the outer diameter d12 of the core layer
12, respectively.
[0063] The change of the wavelength dispersion when the outer
diameter d12 of the core layer 12 is changed by 1%, .DELTA.D
[ps/nm/km], is defined by Equation (7).
.DELTA.D=((D.sub.+1-D.sub.-1)/(d12.sub.+1-d12.sub.-1)).times.d12/100
(7)
[0064] In Equation (7), D+.sub.1 represents wavelength dispersion
when the outer diameter of the core layer 12 is d12.sub.+1 and
D.sub.-1 represents wavelength dispersion when the outer diameter
of the core layer 12 is d12.sub.-1, where d12.sub.+1=d12+.delta.
and d12.sub.-1=d12-.delta.. The parameter 6 is a change amount of
the outer diameter of the core layer 12.
[0065] FIG. 3 is a table of a result of calculating wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, wavelength dispersion slope S,
effective core area A.sub.eff, and cutoff wavelength .lamda..sub.c
when the outer diameter d12 of the core layer 12 is changed by 1%
near a point where wavelength dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km, with the
profile parameters used in the simulation set as Ra11=0.20,
.DELTA.11=3.0, .alpha.11=3, Ra12=0.25, .DELTA.14=0.3, .alpha.14=6,
and .DELTA.12=-0.6. As shown in FIG. 3, the absolute value of the
wavelength dispersion D is minimized when the outer diameter d12 of
the core layer 12 is 20.6 .mu.m, and at this time, the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D is 0.52 [(ps/nm/km)/%], which is a small
enough value compared to a value of a conventional nonlinear
optical fiber that will be described later.
[0066] FIG. 4 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d12 of the core layer 12 is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra11=0.40, .DELTA.11=3.0, .alpha.11=3, Ra12=0.55, .DELTA.14=0.3,
.alpha.14=6, and .DELTA.12=-0.6. As shown in FIG. 4, the absolute
value of the wavelength dispersion D is minimized when the outer
diameter d12 of the core layer 12 is 10.6 .mu.m, and at this time,
the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D is 0.47 [(ps/nm/km)/%],
which is a small enough value compared to the value of the
conventional nonlinear optical fiber that will be described
later.
[0067] Subsequently, regarding the nonlinear optical fiber 10
having the refractive index profile shown in FIG. 2, the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D is calculated from the wavelength
dispersion at each diameter by changing the diameter of the core
with a step of 0.1 .mu.m using various profile parameters, and
wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D.sub.0 at a diameter with
which the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion is minimized
is compared for each case.
[0068] FIGS. 5 to 9 are tables of a result of comparing values of
the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D.sub.0 when Ra11 and Ra12
are changed with parameters other than the Ra11 and the Ra12 fixed.
FIGS. 5 to 7 show cases where .DELTA.11 is set to 3.0, 2.4, and
1.8, respectively; and FIGS. 8 and 9 show cases where .DELTA.12 is
different from the case shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 10 is a table of a
result of a case where .DELTA.14 is changed in the case shown in
FIG. 5. The results show that .DELTA.D.sub.0 is changed depending
on a ratio of Ra12 and Ra11, i.e., the ratio d14/d11 of the outer
diameter d14 of the buffer core layer 14 and the diameter d11 of
the center core region 11, and in a range where d14/d11 is equal to
or smaller than 2.0, .DELTA.D.sub.0 decreases as d14/d11
increases.
[0069] However, because there is a tradeoff relationship between
d14/d11 and the cutoff wavelength, i.e., the cutoff wavelength
increases as d14/d11 increases, it is necessary to increase d14/d11
in a range where the cutoff wavelength is shorter than a wavelength
of a signal light. In addition, because there is a tradeoff
relationship between d14/d11 and the effective core area, i.e., the
effective core area increases as d14/d11 increases, to maintain the
high nonlinearity, it is necessary to increase d14/d11 in a range
where the effective core area is equal to or smaller than 18
.mu.m.sup.2. On the other hand, if d14/d11 is smaller than 1.2, the
wavelength dispersion characteristics of the optical fiber does not
become stable in the longitudinal direction because .DELTA.D.sub.0
does not decrease that much.
[0070] However, in the nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to the
first embodiment, d14/d11 is equal to or larger than 1.2 and equal
to or smaller than 2.0; and therefore, .DELTA.D.sub.0 is small
enough and the wavelength dispersion characteristics are stable in
the longitudinal direction, the cutoff wavelength becomes short,
and the effective core area is equal to or smaller than 18
.mu.m.sup.2, which leads to a high nonlinearity.
[0071] In addition that there is a tradeoff relationship between
d14/d11 and the cutoff wavelength, i.e., the cutoff wavelength
increases as d14/d11 increases, there is another tradeoff
relationship between .DELTA.11 or .DELTA.12 and the cutoff
wavelength, i.e., the cutoff wavelength increases as .DELTA.11 or
.DELTA.12 increases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase d14/d11
in a range where the cutoff wavelength becomes shorter than the
wavelength of the signal light with respect to predetermined
.DELTA.11 and .DELTA.12. For example, when .DELTA.11 is 3.0% and
.DELTA.12 is -0.6%, if d14/d11 is larger than 1.4, the cutoff
wavelength becomes equal to or longer than 1500 nm; and therefore,
it is preferable to set d14/d11 to equal to or larger than 1.2 and
equal to or smaller than 1.4.
[0072] Furthermore, because there is a tradeoff relationship
between .DELTA.11 or Ra11 and .DELTA.D.sub.0, i.e., .DELTA.D.sub.0
increases as .DELTA.11 decreases or Ra11 increases, it is necessary
to increase d14/d11 in a range where .DELTA.D.sub.0 becomes small
enough with respect to predetermined .DELTA.11 and Ra11. For
example, when .DELTA.11 is 2.4%, .DELTA.12 is -0.6%, and Ra11 is
0.4, the cutoff wavelength becomes equal to or longer than 1500 nm
if d14/d11 is larger than 1.7, and .DELTA.D.sub.0 becomes larger
than 0.7 [(ps/nm/km)/%] if d14/d11 is smaller than 1.3. Therefore,
it is preferable to set d14/d11 to equal to or larger than 1.3 and
equal to or smaller than 1.7.
[0073] If .delta.11 is smaller than 1.8%, not only .DELTA.D.sub.0
increase but also it is difficult to keep the effective core area
to equal to or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2. However, in the
nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to the first embodiment,
because .DELTA.11 is equal to or larger than 1.8%, .DELTA.D.sub.0
is small enough and the wavelength dispersion characteristics
become stable in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber.
Furthermore, the effective core area can be easily set to equal to
or smaller than 18 .mu.m.sup.2, it is possible to maintain the high
nonlinearity. In addition, in the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment, because .DELTA.11 is preferably
equal to or larger than 2.2%, the effective core area can be set to
equal to or smaller than 15 .mu.m.sup.2, and it is possible to
maintain even higher nonlinearity, which makes it possible to
increase the generation efficiency of the nonlinear optical
phenomena.
[0074] If Ra11, i.e., d11/d12, is larger than 0.4, not only
.DELTA.D.sub.0 increases but also the effective core area
increases. However, in the nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to
the first embodiment, because d12/d11 is equal to or larger than
2.5, and more preferably, equal to or larger than 3.0, Ra11 becomes
equal to or smaller than 0.4; and therefore, .DELTA.D.sub.0 is
small enough and the wavelength dispersion characteristics become
stable in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber.
Furthermore, the effective core area can be kept small, so that it
is possible to maintain the high nonlinearity.
[0075] In addition, if .DELTA.12 increases, not only the cutoff
wavelength increases but also the effective core area increases.
When .DELTA.12 is larger than -0.2%, it is difficult to keep the
cutoff wavelength shorter than 1500 nm. Furthermore, it is
difficult to set .DELTA.12 to smaller than -1.2% in manufacturing
the optical fiber. However, in the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment, because .DELTA.12 is equal to or
larger than -1.2% and equal to or smaller than -0.2%, and more
preferably, equal to or larger than -1.2% and equal to or smaller
than -0.4%, the cutoff wavelength can be easily set to shorter than
1500 nm, the fabrication becomes easy, too. Moreover, the effective
core area can be kept small, so that it is possible to maintain the
high nonlinearity.
[0076] Although .DELTA.D.sub.0 decreases as .DELTA.14 increases, if
.DELTA.14 becomes larger than 0.6%, an air bubble is apt to be
generated in the buffer core layer 14 at the time of manufacturing
the optical fiber, which degrades the productivity. On the other
hand, if .DELTA.14 is smaller than 0.1%, the effect of reducing
.DELTA.D.sub.0 by the buffer core layer 14 cannot be obtained.
However, in the nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to the first
embodiment, .DELTA.14 is equal to or larger than 0.1% and equal to
or smaller than 0.6%, and more preferably, equal to or larger than
0.3% and equal to or smaller than 0.6%, a high productivity can be
achieved and the effect of reducing .DELTA.D.sub.0 can be obtained
significantly.
[0077] For comparison, a change of wavelength dispersion is
calculated by simulation from electric field distribution of a
light in a conventional-type nonlinear optical fiber that does not
have a buffer core layer near a point where the wavelength
dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km when the outer diameter of the core
layer is changed. As shown in FIG. 11, the conventional-type
nonlinear optical fiber includes a core and a cladding: the core
includes a center core region that has a diameter d11', an
.alpha.-type refractive index profile 11a' and a maximum refractive
index nc11' and a core layer that is formed around the center core
region and that has a refractive index lower than a refractive
index of the center core region, an outer diameter d12', a
refractive index profile 12a', and a minimum refractive index
nc12'; and the cladding is formed around the core layer, having a
refractive index lower than the refractive index of the center core
region and higher than the refractive index of the core layer, a
refractive index profile 16a' and a refractive index nc110'. In the
simulation, the diameter of the core is changed by changing the
outer diameter d12' of the core layer, while fixing Ra11', which is
a ratio of the diameter dill of the center core region (also
referred to as "a center core") to the outer diameter d12' of the
core layer (also referred to as "a depressed core").
[0078] FIG. 12 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d12' of the core layer is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra11'=0.20, .DELTA.11'=3.0, .alpha.11'=3, and .DELTA.12'=-0.6 as in
the same manner as the case shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 12,
the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion D is minimized when
the outer diameter d12' of the core layer is 21.1 .mu.m, and at
this time, the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D is 0.68
[(ps/nm/km)/%]. This value is larger than 0.52 [(ps/nm/km)/%] that
is the value of .DELTA.D in the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment including the buffer core layer
14 shown in FIG. 3.
[0079] FIG. 13 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d12' of the core layer is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra11'=0.40, .DELTA.11'=3.0, .alpha.11'=3, and .DELTA.12'=-0.6 as in
the same manner as the case shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 13,
the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion D is minimized when
the outer diameter d12' of the core layer is 10.6 .mu.m, and at
this time, the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D is 0.70
[(ps/nm/km)/%]. This value is larger than 0.47 [(ps/nm/km)/%] that
is the value of .DELTA.D in the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment including the buffer core layer
14 shown in FIG. 4.
[0080] From the above description, with the nonlinear optical fiber
10 according to the first embodiment, even when the diameter of the
core varies in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber due
to a fluctuation of the manufacturing conditions at the time of
manufacturing the nonlinear optical fiber, a variation of the
wavelength dispersion characteristics due to the variation of the
diameter of the core in the longitudinal direction can be reduced
because the nonlinear optical fiber includes at least one buffer
core layer formed between the center core region and the core
layer, which has refractive index lower than that of the center
core region and higher than that of the core layer. Therefore, it
is possible to realize a nonlinear optical fiber having stable
wavelength dispersion characteristics in the longitudinal direction
so that the nonlinear optical phenomena can be used with high
efficiency.
[0081] Embodiment examples of the nonlinear optical fiber according
to the present invention will be explained in detail below based on
an actual measurement result of each characteristic value.
[0082] As embodiment examples 1 to 6, nonlinear optical fibers 101
to 106 according to the present invention are fabricated. Each of
the nonlinear optical fibers 101 to 106 includes the structure and
the refractive index profile shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is
fabricated using the same core preform having the profile
parameters of Ra11=0.22, .DELTA.11=3.0, .alpha.11=3.4, Ra12=0.27,
.DELTA.14=0.4, .alpha.14=3.6, .DELTA.12=-0.6, and .DELTA.clad=0. In
fabricating the nonlinear optical fiber, the outer diameter d12 of
the core layer is changed to change the characteristics such as the
wavelength dispersion by changing the outer diameter of the
cladding.
[0083] FIG. 14 is a table of measured characteristics of the
nonlinear optical fibers 101 to 106 according to the embodiment
examples 1 to 6. Values of wavelength dispersion, dispersion slope,
loss, effective core area, nonlinear coefficient, and polarization
mode dispersion in the table indicate values at the wavelength of
1550 nm. Values of effective core area, cutoff wavelength, outer
diameter of core layer, outer diameter of cladding, and outer
diameter of coating in the table indicate average values of
measured values at both facets of fabricated nonlinear optical
fibers.
[0084] As shown in FIG. 14, the cutoff wavelengths of all of the
nonlinear optical fibers 101 to 106 are shorter than 1500 nm.
Furthermore, the characteristics of all of the nonlinear optical
fibers 101 to 106 at the wavelength of 1550 nm show the absolute
value of the wavelength dispersion equal to or smaller than 5
ps/nm/km, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion slope
equal to or larger than 0.02 ps/nm.sup.2/km and equal to or smaller
than 0.06 ps/nm.sup.2/km, the nonlinear coefficient equal to or
larger than 40.times.10.sup.-10/W, the transmission loss equal to
or smaller than 1.5 dB/km, and the polarization mode dispersion
equal to or smaller than 0.2 ps/km.sup.1/2. In addition, the outer
diameters of the claddings of the nonlinear optical fibers 103 to
106 are equal to or smaller than 100 .mu.m with the outer diameters
of the coatings equal to or smaller than 150 .mu.m.
[0085] Upon calculating the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
when the outer diameter of the core layer is changed by 1% from the
relationship between the outer diameter of the core layer and the
wavelength dispersion of the nonlinear optical fibers 101 to 106
using Equation (7), the values are equal to or smaller than 0.7
[(ps/nm/km)/%] in all the optical fibers.
[0086] Subsequently, for the nonlinear optical fiber 106 according
to the embodiment example 6, a variation of the wavelength
dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is
measured by a nonlinear OTDR method that is disclosed in Optics
Letters, vol. 21, pp. 1724-1726 (1996). The fiber length is set to
3 km, and the measurement wavelength is set to 1550 nm. FIG. 15 is
a graph showing a result of measuring the variation of the
wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber 106, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents wavelength dispersion. As shown in FIG. 15, the
variation range of the wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal
direction of the optical fiber at the wavelength of 1550 nm is
equal to or smaller than 0.6 ps/nm/km per a length of 1 km at the
largest. In addition, a variation of the zero dispersion wavelength
in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is calculated
from the measurement result shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a graph
showing a result of measuring the variation of the zero dispersion
wavelength in the longitudinal direction of the nonlinear optical
fiber 106, where the horizontal axis represents position from a
facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis represents zero
dispersion wavelength. As shown in FIG. 16, the variation range of
the zero dispersion wavelength in the longitudinal direction of the
optical fiber is equal to or smaller than 15 nm per a length of 1
km at the largest.
[0087] A nonlinear optical fiber according to a second embodiment
of the present invention will be explained next. The nonlinear
optical fiber according to the second embodiment is different from
the nonlinear optical fiber according to the first embodiment in
that the core further includes an additional core layer that is
formed between the core layer and the cladding and that has a
refractive index higher than the refractive index of the
cladding.
[0088] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of a
nonlinear optical fiber 20 according to the second embodiment; and
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of the refractive index profile of
the nonlinear optical fiber 20. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the
nonlinear optical fiber 20 according to the second embodiment has
the same structure as the nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to
the first embodiment, except for that a core 25 further includes an
additional core layer 23 that is formed between a core layer 22 and
a cladding 26 and that has a refractive index higher than a
refractive index of the cladding 26 and an outer diameter d23.
[0089] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 18, although the nonlinear
optical fiber 20 has a refractive index profile that is similar to
the refractive index profile of the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment, the additional core layer 23 has
the outer diameter d23 and a refractive index profile 23a with a
maximum refractive index nc23.
[0090] In the similar manner as the nonlinear optical fiber 10
according to the first embodiment, a ratio d21/d22 is defined as
Ra21, and a ratio d24/d22 is defined as Ra22, the maximum relative
refractive index difference between a center core region 21 and the
cladding 26 is defined as .DELTA.21, the minimum relative
refractive index difference between the core layer 22 and the
cladding 26 is defined as .DELTA.22, and the maximum relative
refractive index difference between a buffer core layer 24 and the
cladding 26 is defined as .DELTA.24. In addition, a ratio d23/d22
of the outer diameter d23 of the additional core layer 23 to the
outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22 is defined as Ra23, and the
maximum relative refractive index difference between the additional
core layer 23 and the cladding 26 is defined as .DELTA.23.
Regarding .DELTA.21, .DELTA.22, and .DELTA.24, equations similar to
Equations (1) to (3) can be applied in the similar manner to
.DELTA.11, .DELTA.12, and .DELTA.14. In addition, .DELTA.23 is
expressed by Equation (8).
.DELTA.23=[(nc23-nc120)/nc23].times.100(%) (8)
[0091] In the nonlinear optical fiber 20, d24/d21 is equal to or
larger than 1.2 and equal to or smaller than 2.0 as the nonlinear
optical fiber 10. In addition, .DELTA.21 is equal to or larger than
1.8%, and more preferably, equal to or larger than 2.2%.
Furthermore, d22/d21 is equal to or larger than 2.5, and more
preferably, equal to or larger than 3.0. Moreover, .DELTA.22 is
equal to or larger than -1.2% and equal to or smaller than -0.2%,
and more preferably, equal to or larger than -1.2% and equal to or
smaller than -0.4%. In addition, .DELTA.24 is equal to or larger
than 0.1% and equal to or smaller than 0.6%, and more preferably,
equal to or larger than 0.3% and equal to or smaller than 0.6%.
Ra23, i.e., d23/d22, is equal to or smaller than 1.2, and .DELTA.23
is equal to or smaller than 0.3%. Therefore, because the area of
the additional core layer is small, the cutoff wavelength can
easily be set to a predetermined wavelength shorter than the signal
light wavelength.
[0092] As for the transmission characteristic of the nonlinear
optical fiber 20, the cutoff wavelength is set to be shorter than
1500 nm in order to transmit a signal light of a wavelength equal
to or longer than 1500 nm in single mode in the same manner as the
nonlinear optical fiber 10. The variation range of zero dispersion
wavelength in the longitudinal direction is equal to or narrower
than 30 nm per a length of 1 km. Furthermore, at the wavelength of
1550 nm, the variation range of wavelength dispersion in the
longitudinal direction is equal to or smaller than 1 ps/nm/km per a
length of 1 km, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion is
equal to or smaller than 5 ps/nm/km, and more preferably, equal to
or smaller than 1 ps/nm/km. The variation of the wavelength
dispersion at the wavelength of 1550 nm when the outer diameter of
the core layer 22 is changed by 1% is equal to or smaller than 0.7
ps/nm/km in a range where the absolute value of the wavelength
dispersion is equal to or smaller than 5 ps/nm/km. In addition, at
the wavelength of 1550 nm, the absolute value of the wavelength
dispersion slope is equal to or larger than 0.02 ps/nm.sup.2/km and
equal to or smaller than 0.06 ps/nm.sup.2/km, the transmission loss
is equal to or smaller than 1.5 dB/km, and the polarization mode
dispersion is equal to or smaller than 0.2 ps/km.sup.1/2. As for
the optical nonlinearity, the nonlinear coefficient at the
wavelength of 1550 nm is equal to or larger than
40.times..sup.-10/W.
[0093] The characteristics of the nonlinear optical fiber 20
according to the second embodiment will be explained with a
simulation result. The first thing to be explained is a
relationship between the refractive index profile of the nonlinear
optical fiber and wavelength dispersion stability in the
longitudinal direction of the optical fiber. A change of the
wavelength dispersion with the change of the diameter of the core
25 is calculated by simulation from the electric field distribution
of a light propagating through the nonlinear optical fiber 20
having the refractive index profile shown in FIG. 18. In this
simulation, the diameter of the core 25 is changed by changing the
outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22 while fixing Ra21, Ra22,
and Ra23, which are the ratio of the diameter d21 of the center
core region 21 to the outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22, the
ratio of the outer diameter d24 of the buffer core layer 24 to the
outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22, and the ratio of the outer
diameter d23 of the additional core layer 23 to the outer diameter
d22 of the core layer 22, respectively.
[0094] FIG. 19 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22 is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra21=0.20, .DELTA.21=3.0, .alpha.21=3, Ra22=0.25, .DELTA.24=0.4,
.alpha.24=4, .DELTA.22=-0.6, Ra23=1.2, and .DELTA.23=0.2. As shown
in FIG. 19, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion D is
minimized when the outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22 is 20.2
.mu.m, and at this time, the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
is 0.53 [(ps/nm/km)/%], which is a small enough value compared to
the value of the conventional nonlinear optical fiber that will be
described later.
[0095] FIG. 20 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22 is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra21=0.40, .DELTA.21=3.0, .alpha.21=3, Ra22=0.55, .DELTA.24=0.4,
.alpha.24=4, .DELTA.22=-0.6, Ra23=1.2, and .DELTA.23=0.2. As shown
in FIG. 20, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion D is
minimized when the outer diameter d22 of the core layer 22 is 10.4
.mu.m, and at this time, the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
is 0.48 [(ps/nm/km)/%], which is a small enough value compared to
the value of the conventional nonlinear optical fiber that will be
described later.
[0096] For comparison, a change of wavelength dispersion is
calculated by simulation from electric field distribution of a
light in a conventional-type nonlinear optical fiber that does not
have a buffer core layer near a point where the wavelength
dispersion D is 0 ps/nm/km when the outer diameter of the core
layer is changed. As shown in FIG. 21, the conventional-type
nonlinear optical fiber has a refractive index profile of the same
structure as the conventional-type nonlinear optical fiber shown in
FIG. 11, and the core further includes an additional core layer
that is formed between the core layer and the cladding and has a
refractive index higher than the refractive index of the cladding,
an outer diameter d23', a refractive index profile 23a', and a
maximum refractive index nc23'. In the simulation, the diameter of
the core is changed by changing the outer diameter d22' of the core
layer, while fixing Ra21', which is a ratio of the diameter d21' of
the center core region to the outer diameter d22' of the core layer
and Ra23', which is a ratio of the diameter d23' of the additional
core layer to the outer diameter d22' of the core layer.
[0097] FIG. 22 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d22' of the core layer is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra21'=0.20, .DELTA.21'=3.0, .alpha.21'=3, .DELTA.22'=-0.6,
Ra23'=1.2, and .DELTA.23'=0.2 as the case shown in FIG. 19. As
shown in FIG. 22, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion D
is minimized when the outer diameter d22' of the core layer is 21.1
.mu.m, and at this time, the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
is 0.69 [(ps/nm/km)/%]. This value is larger than 0.53
[(ps/nm/km)/%] that is the value of .DELTA.D in the nonlinear
optical fiber 20 according to the second embodiment including the
buffer core layer shown in FIG. 19.
[0098] FIG. 23 is a table of a result of calculating the wavelength
dispersion change .DELTA.D, the wavelength dispersion slope S, the
effective core area A.sub.eff, and the cutoff wavelength
.lamda..sub.c when the outer diameter d22' of the core layer is
changed by 1% near a point where the wavelength dispersion D is 0
ps/nm/km, with the profile parameters used in the simulation set as
Ra21'=0.40, .DELTA.21'=3.0, .alpha.21'=3, .DELTA.22'=-0.6,
Ra23'=1.2, and .DELTA.23'=0.2 as the case shown in FIG. 20. As
shown in FIG. 23, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion D
is minimized when the outer diameter d22' of the core layer is 10.6
.mu.m, and at this time, the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
is 0.71 [(ps/nm/km)/%]. This value is larger than 0.48
[(ps/nm/km)/%] that is the value of .DELTA.D in the nonlinear
optical fiber 20 according to the second embodiment including the
buffer core layer 14 shown in FIG. 20.
[0099] From the above description, also with the nonlinear optical
fiber 20 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to
realize a nonlinear optical fiber having stable wavelength
dispersion characteristics in the longitudinal direction so that
the nonlinear optical phenomena can be used with high efficiency as
in the same manner as the nonlinear optical fiber 10 according to
the first embodiment.
[0100] As embodiment examples 7 to 9, nonlinear optical fibers 201
to 203 according to the present invention are fabricated. Each of
the nonlinear optical fibers 201 to 203 includes the structure and
the refractive index profile shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, and is
fabricated using the same core preform having the profile
parameters of Ra21=0.21, .DELTA.21=3.0, .alpha.21=3.4, Ra22=0.26,
.DELTA.24=0.4, .alpha.24=3.6, .DELTA.22=-0.6, Ra23=1.15,
.DELTA.23=0.2, and .DELTA.clad=0. In fabricating the nonlinear
optical fiber, the outer diameter d22 of the core layer is changed
to change the characteristics such as the wavelength dispersion by
changing the outer diameter of the cladding.
[0101] FIG. 24 is a table of measured characteristics of the
nonlinear optical fibers 201 to 203 according to the embodiment
examples 7 to 9. Values of wavelength dispersion, dispersion slope,
loss, effective core area, nonlinear coefficient, and polarization
mode dispersion in the table indicate values at the wavelength of
1550 nm. Values of effective core area, cutoff wavelength, outer
diameter of core layer, outer diameter of cladding, and outer
diameter of coating in the table indicate average values of
measured values at both facets of fabricated nonlinear optical
fibers.
[0102] As shown in FIG. 24, the cutoff wavelengths of all of the
nonlinear optical fibers 201 to 203 are shorter than 1500 nm.
Furthermore, the characteristics of all of the nonlinear optical
fibers 201 to 203 at the wavelength of 1550 nm show the absolute
value of the wavelength dispersion equal to or smaller than 5
ps/nm/km, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion slope
equal to or larger than 0.02 ps/nm.sup.2/km and equal to or smaller
than 0.06 ps/nm.sup.2/km, the nonlinear coefficient equal to or
larger than 40.times.10.sup.-10/W, the transmission loss equal to
or smaller than 1.5 dB/km, and the polarization mode dispersion
equal to or smaller than 0.2 ps/km.sup.1/2.
[0103] Upon calculating the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
when the outer diameter of the core layer is changed by 1% from the
relationship between the outer diameter of the core layer and the
wavelength dispersion of the nonlinear optical fibers 201 to 203
using Equation (7), the values are equal to or smaller than 0.7
[(ps/nm/km)/%] in all the optical fibers.
[0104] Subsequently, for the nonlinear optical fiber 203 according
to the embodiment example 9, a variation of the wavelength
dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is
measured by the nonlinear OTDR method that is described earlier.
The fiber length is set to 2 km, and the measurement wavelength is
set to 1550 nm. FIG. 25 is a graph showing a result of measuring
the variation of the wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal
direction of the nonlinear optical fiber 203, where the horizontal
axis represents position from a facet of the optical fiber and the
vertical axis represents wavelength dispersion. As shown in FIG.
25, the variation range of the wavelength dispersion in the
longitudinal direction of the optical fiber at the wavelength of
1550 nm is equal to or smaller than 0.1 ps/nm/km per a length of 1
km at the largest. In addition, a variation of the zero dispersion
wavelength in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is
calculated from the measurement result shown in FIG. 25. FIG. 26 is
a graph showing a result of measuring the variation of the zero
dispersion wavelength in the longitudinal direction of the
nonlinear optical fiber 203, where the horizontal axis represents
position from a facet of the optical fiber and the vertical axis
represents zero dispersion wavelength. As shown in FIG. 26, the
variation range of the zero dispersion wavelength in the
longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is equal to or smaller
than 2.5 nm per a length of 1 km at the largest.
[0105] A nonlinear optical device according to a third embodiment
of the present invention will be explained next. The nonlinear
optical fiber according to the third embodiment is different from
the nonlinear optical fiber according to the second embodiment in
that a stress applying member is provided on both sides of the
cladding across the center core region.
[0106] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of a
nonlinear optical fiber 30 according to the third embodiment of the
present invention; and FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of the
refractive index profile of the nonlinear optical fiber 30. As
shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the nonlinear optical fiber 30 according
to the third embodiment has the same structure as the nonlinear
optical fiber 20 according to the second embodiment, except for
that a stress applying member (stress applying preform) 38 having a
diameter R is provided with a distance r on both sides of a
cladding 36 across a center core region 31. With the stress
applying member 38 provided, a stress is applied to a core 35 in a
direction in which the stress applying member 38 is provided, so
that the nonlinear optical fiber 30 becomes a polarization
maintaining optical fiber.
[0107] The stress applying member 38 is formed with boron-doped
silica glass. Because the boron-doped silica glass has a larger
thermal expansion coefficient compared with the pure silica glass,
a tensile stress occurs in the stress applying member 38 when
drawing the optical fiber preform to fabricate the optical fiber.
Therefore, a stress is applied to the core 35 in the direction in
which the stress applying member 38 is provided by the tensile
stress.
[0108] When the minimum or the maximum relative refractive index
difference of the stress applying member 38 with respect to the
cladding 36 is .DELTA.B, .DELTA.B is defined by Equation (9) using
a refractive nc130 of the cladding 36 and a minimum or a maximum
refractive index ncB of the stress applying member 38.
.DELTA.B=[ncB-nc130]/ncB].times.100(%) (9)
[0109] If .DELTA.B is larger than -0.1% and smaller than 0.1%, it
is hard to recognize optically the position of the stress applying
member 38 because the refractive index difference between the
stress applying member 38 and the cladding 36 is too small. When
connecting the nonlinear optical fiber 30 according to the third
embodiment to other polarization maintaining optical fiber having a
stress applying member, it is necessary to match the positions of
the stress applying members of the optical fibers to transmit the
signal light while maintaining the state of polarization. From this
standpoint, in order to recognize optically the position of the
stress applying member 38 with ease when connecting with the other
optical fiber, the nonlinear optical fiber 30 according to the
third embodiment has .DELTA.B equal to or smaller than -0.1% or
equal to or larger than 0.1%, and more preferably, equal to or
larger than -0.8% and equal to or smaller than -0.2%.
[0110] In addition, because the nonlinear optical fiber 30 has a
polarization crosstalk at the wavelength of 1550 nm equal to or
smaller than -20 dB per a distance of 100 m, it shows good
polarization maintaining characteristic.
[0111] As embodiment examples 10 to 12, nonlinear optical fibers
301 to 303 according to the present invention are fabricated. Each
of the nonlinear optical fibers 301 to 303 includes the structure
and the refractive index profile shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, and is
fabricated using the same core preform having the profile
parameters of Ra31=0.37, .DELTA.31=3.0, .alpha.31=3.4, Ra32=0.46,
.DELTA.34=0.4, .alpha.34=3.6, .DELTA.32=-0.6, Ra33=1.21,
.DELTA.33=0.2, and .DELTA.clad=0. In fabricating the nonlinear
optical fiber, the outer diameter d32 of the core is changed to
change the characteristics such as the wavelength dispersion by
changing the outer diameter of the cladding.
[0112] FIG. 29 is a table of measured characteristics of the
nonlinear optical fibers 301 to 303 according to the embodiment
examples 10 to 12. Values of wavelength dispersion, dispersion
slope, loss, effective core area, nonlinear coefficient, and
polarization mode dispersion in the table indicate values at the
wavelength of 1550 nm. The crosstalk is a value converted from the
measured value into a value per a distance of 100 m. Values of
effective core area, cutoff wavelength, outer diameter of core
layer, outer diameter of cladding, and outer diameter of coating in
the table indicate average values of measured values at both facets
of fabricated nonlinear optical fibers.
[0113] As shown in FIG. 29, the cutoff wavelengths of all of the
nonlinear optical fibers 301 to 303 are shorter than 1500 nm.
Furthermore, the characteristics of all of the nonlinear optical
fibers 301 to 303 at the wavelength of 1550 nm show the absolute
value of the wavelength dispersion equal to or smaller than 5
ps/nm/km, the absolute value of the wavelength dispersion slope
equal to or larger than 0.02 ps/nm.sup.2/km and equal to or smaller
than 0.06 ps/nm.sup.2/km, the nonlinear coefficient equal to or
larger than 40.times.10.sup.-10/W, the transmission loss equal to
or smaller than 1.5 dB/km, and the polarization crosstalk is equal
to or smaller than -20 dB per a distance of 100 m.
[0114] Upon calculating the wavelength dispersion change .DELTA.D
when the outer diameter of the core layer is changed by 1% from the
relationship between the outer diameter of the core layer and the
wavelength dispersion of the nonlinear optical fibers 301 to 303
using Equation (7), the values are equal to or smaller than 0.7
[(ps/nm/km)/%] in all the optical fibers.
[0115] Subsequently, for the nonlinear optical fiber 303 according
to the embodiment example 12, a variation of the wavelength
dispersion in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is
measured by the nonlinear OTDR method that is described earlier.
The fiber length is set to 1 km, and the measurement wavelength is
set to 1550 nm. FIG. 30 is a graph showing a result of measuring
the variation of the wavelength dispersion in the longitudinal
direction of the nonlinear optical fiber 303, where the horizontal
axis represents position from a facet of the optical fiber and the
vertical axis represents wavelength dispersion. As shown in FIG.
30, the variation range of the wavelength dispersion in the
longitudinal direction of the optical fiber at the wavelength of
1550 nm is equal to or smaller than 0.13 ps/nm/km per a length of 1
km at the largest.
[0116] A nonlinear optical device according to a fourth embodiment
of the present invention will be explained next. FIG. 31 is a
schematic diagram of a nonlinear optical device 40 according to the
fourth embodiment of the present invention. The nonlinear optical
device 40 according to the fourth embodiment is a waveform shaping
device as the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open Publication No. 2004-117590, and includes a light input
unit 41, a light output unit 42, and nonlinear optical fibers 43a
to 43e according to the present invention installed between the
light input unit 41 and the light output unit 42. The nonlinear
optical fibers 43a to 43e cause the SPM by an optical pulse input
from the light input unit 41 to convert the optical pulse to a
soliton, and output a waveform-shaped soliton light to the light
output unit 42. In addition, optical fibers 44a to 44e having low
optical nonlinearity, which are used in an ordinary optical
transmission line, are installed alternately with the nonlinear
optical fibers 43a to 43e. Lengths of the optical fibers are
adjusted to balance the nonlinearity and the wavelength dispersion,
so that a waveform shaping function using the soliton conversion is
realized. Because the nonlinear optical device 40 employs the
nonlinear optical fibers 43a to 43e according to the present
invention, which have stable wavelength dispersion characteristic
in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber, the SPM is
generated efficiently; and therefore, the waveform shaping can be
performed with high efficiency even if the length of the nonlinear
optical fiber is short.
[0117] An optical signal processing apparatus according to a fifth
embodiment of the present invention will be explained next. FIG. 32
is a schematic diagram of an optical signal processing apparatus 50
according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The
optical signal processing apparatus 50 according to the fifth
embodiment is a wavelength converting apparatus as the one
disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No.
2005-301009, and includes an optical signal input unit 51, an
optical signal processing unit 56, and an optical signal output
unit 52. The optical signal processing unit 56 includes a nonlinear
optical fiber 53 according to the present invention, a pumping
light source 55 that outputs a pumping light, and an optical
coupler 54 that combines the pumping light and a signal light and
input the coupled light to the nonlinear optical fiber. The signal
light input from the optical signal input unit 51 is input to the
optical signal processing unit 56. In the optical signal processing
unit 56, the signal light is combined with the pumping light by the
optical coupler 54, and the combined light is input to the
nonlinear optical fiber 53. The wavelength of the signal light is
converted to a different wavelength by the FWM generated in the
nonlinear optical fiber 53 by the pumping light, and the
wavelength-converted signal light is output from the optical signal
output unit 52. Because the optical signal processing apparatus 50
employs the nonlinear optical fiber 53 according to the present
invention, which have stable wavelength dispersion characteristic
in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber, it can perform
the wavelength conversion with high efficiency even if the length
of the nonlinear optical fiber is short.
[0118] Although the nonlinear optical fibers according to the first
to the third embodiments includes single buffer core layers 14 to
34, respectively, two or more buffer core layers can be formed in
each optical fiber. In addition, although the center core region
and the buffer core layer have the .alpha.-type refractive index
profiles in the description, the step-index-type refractive index
profiles can also be used instead.
[0119] As described above, according to an aspect of the present
invention, even when the diameter of the core varies in the
longitudinal direction of the optical fiber due to a fluctuation of
the manufacturing conditions at the time of manufacturing the
nonlinear optical fiber, a variation of the wavelength dispersion
characteristics due to the variation of the diameter of the core in
the longitudinal direction can be reduced because the nonlinear
optical fiber includes at least one buffer core layer formed
between the center core region and the core layer, which has
refractive index lower than that of the center core region and
higher than that of the core layer. Therefore, it is possible to
realize a nonlinear optical fiber having stable wavelength
dispersion characteristics in the longitudinal direction so that
the nonlinear optical phenomena can be used with high
efficiency.
[0120] Although the invention has been described with respect to a
specific embodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the
appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed
as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that
may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the
basic teaching herein set forth.
* * * * *