Multichannel soliton systems in the temporal and spatial domains

Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), i.e., the use of many channels for transmission of information in one optical fiber, has attracted a lot of interest. To suppress crosstalk between WDM channels, various channel-isolating optical filters were proposed. A new scheme was put forward recently, in which the channels with width /spl sim/1 nm are separated by narrow absorption lines (notches) induced by electrons trapped in quantum wells of a size /spl sim/100 nm. An analytical model of a channel of the spectral width /spl Delta//spl omega//spl equiv//spl omega//sub 1/-/spl omega//sub 2/, isolated by two infinitely narrow notches ("soliton rail"), is discussed. The issue of finding an optimal regime that provides for the strongest stability of the "rail"-guided soliton is examined.