We present the theory of modulation instability induced by spectrally dependent losses (optical filters) in passive driven nonlinear fiber ring resonators. Starting from an Ikeda map description of the propagation equation and boundary conditions, we
derive a mean field model - a generalised Lugiato-Lefever equation - which reproduces with great accuracy the predictions of the map. The effects on instability gain and comb generation of the different control parameters such as dispersion, cavity detuning, filter spectral position and bandwidth are discussed.
We report an experimental observation of the collision between a linear wave propagating in the anomalous dispersion region of an optical fiber and a dark soliton located in the normal dispersion region. This interaction results in the emission of a
new frequency component whose wavelength can be predicted using phase-matching arguments. The measured efficiency of this process shows a strong dependency with the soliton grayness and the linear wave wavelength, and is in a good agreement with theory and numerical simulations.
The possibility of tailoring the guidance properties of optical fibers along the same direction as the evolution of the optical field allows to explore new directions in nonlinear fiber optics. The new degree of freedom offered by axially-varying opt
ical fibers enables to revisit well-established nonlinear phenomena, and even to discover novel short pulse nonlinear dynamics. Here we study the impact of meter-scale longitudinal variations of group velocity dispersion on the propagation of bright solitons and on their associated dispersive waves. We show that the longitudinal tailoring of fiber properties allows to observe experimentally unique dispersive waves dynamics, such as the emission of cascaded, multiple or polychromatic dispersive waves.
We show that the nonlinear stage of modulational instability induced by parametric driving in the {em defocusing} nonlinear Schrodinger equation can be accurately described by combining mode truncation and averaging methods, valid in the strong drivi
ng regime. The resulting integrable oscillator reveals a complex hidden heteroclinic structure of the instability. A remarkable consequence, validated by the numerical integration of the original model, is the existence of breather solutions separating different Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrent regimes. Our theory also shows that optimal parametric amplification unexpectedly occurs outside the bandwidth of the resonance (or Arnold tongues) arising from the linearised Floquet analysis.
We report the experimental observation of multiple dispersive waves emitted in the anomalous dispersion region of an optical fiber from a train of dark solitons. Each individual dispersive wave can be associated to one particular dark soliton of the
train, using phase-matching arguments involving higher-order dispersion and soliton velocity. For a large number of dark solitons (>10), we observe the formation of a continuum associated with the efficient emission of dispersive waves.
We study, both theoretically and experimentally, modulational instability in optical fibers that have a longitudinal evolution of their dispersion in the form of a Dirac delta comb. By means of Floquet theory, we obtain an exact expression for the po
sition of the gain bands, and we provide simple analytical estimates of the gain and of the bandwidths of those sidebands. An experimental validation of those results has been realized in several microstructured fibers specifically manufactured for that purpose. The dispersion landscape of those fibers is a comb of Gaussian pulses having widths much shorter than the period, which therefore approximate the ideal Dirac comb. Experimental spontaneous MI spectra recorded under quasi continuous wave excitation are in good agreement with the theory and with numerical simulations based on the generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equation.
