Dispersion-managed solitons in the normal dispersion regime: a physical interpretation

We show that dispersion managed solitons exist when the average dispersion is zero or normal. With a simple model we derive the necessary map strength. This has implications for the design of the dispersion map. We have presented an analytic derivation for the critical map strength for solitons to exist in the net normal dispersion of dispersion managed systems. This analysis not only provides an intuitive explanation of this phenomenon which is beyond the usual explanation of soliton phenomena but also provides the methodology for design of dispersion managed soliton systems. The analysis can also be extended to include for example loss.