Using nonsoliton pulses for soliton-based fiber communications

Several properties of nonsoliton evolution are investigated, aiming at the possibility of using nonsoliton inputs as signal carriers in soliton-based optical fiber communications. Numerical results show that nonsoliton inputs can propagate stably while evolving into an oscillatory soliton-like central part and dispersive tails distributed on both sides. The cross-phase modulation between two channels during soliton evolution produces two effects: the pulses become asymmetric, and the pulse propagation speeds are changed. Both effects are attributed to the oscillations of the pulse shape during evolution. Even with these effects, the pulse can still propagate stably over a long distance. The results indicate that use of nonsoliton pulses for soliton-based fiber communications is quite promising.