Nonlinear soliton matching between optical fibers

In this Letter, we propose a generic nonlinear coupling coefficient, eta(2)(NL) = eta|gamma/beta(2)|(fiber2)/|gamma/beta(2)|(fiber1), which gives a quantitative measure for the efficiency of nonlinear matching of optical fibers by describing how a fundamental soliton couples from one fiber into another. Specifically, we use eta(NL) to demonstrate a significant soliton self-frequency shift of a fundamental soliton, and we show that nonlinear matching can take precedence over linear mode matching. The nonlinear coupling coefficient depends on both the dispersion (beta(2)) and nonlinearity (gamma), as well as on the power coupling efficiency eta. Being generic, eta(NL) enables engineering of general waveguide systems, e.g., for optimized Raman redshift or supercontinuum generation. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America