Self-phase modulation and dispersion in high data rate fiber-optictransmission systems

The theoretical transmission limits imposed by the interaction of first- and second-order group velocity dispersion and intensity-dependent self-phase modulation (SPM) effects for a range of wavelengths around the zero dispersion wavelength (λ₀) for fibers in which polarization dispersion is negligible are investigated. It is found that increasing the peak input power to 30 mW reduces the transmission distance for data rates greater than 50 Gb/s, if operating at wavelengths shorter than λ₀. Operating at wavelengths longer than λ₀ improves the performance due to the cancellation of first-order dispersion by self-phase modulation. For example, at 50 Gb/s and 30 mW peak input power, the maximum transmission distance is 255 and 162 km, if operating at wavelengths 1 nm longer or shorter than λ₀, respectively. Above 100 Gb/s, higher-order dispersion limits the transmission distance even at wavelengths equal to, or longer than, λ₀. Linear dispersion compensation using a grating-telescope combination can significantly improve system performance for wavelengths where first-order dispersion dominates     

Wave propagation through curved shells and the validity of theplane-slab approximation

A variety of results is presented for the transmission of microwaves through curved shells. Cylindrical shells with line sources and spherical shells with dipole sources, located in the shell cavity, are considered, and ray theory is applied in systematic computation following G.H. Deschamps' procedure (1972). The ray tracing procedure implemented in the program includes the contribution of multiple reflections between the shell dielectric and free-space medium interface. These results are compared with the local plane-slab approximation described by G. Tricoles (1964). Errors <1% in magnitude are found for radii of curvature >10 λ₀, and thickness <1% λ₀. For the extreme case of shells with radii <5 λ₀ and thickness greater than 1 λ₀, the plane-slab approximation appears to have significant error. Typically, for a shell of radius 5 λ₀ and thickness of 1 λ₀, the error in the normalized far field is less than 4%. The procedure of P.D. Einziger and L.B. Felsen (1983) is extended to provide a basis for the plane-slab approximation     

Broadband triangular microstrip antenna with U-shaped slot

The broadband design of a triangular microstrip antenna with a U-shaped slot is demonstrated. With a foam substrate of thickness ~0.08 λ₀, a slotted triangular microstrip antenna with an operating bandwidth of ~18% is obtained, which is ~1.8 times that of a corresponding simple triangular patch antenna. Details of the antenna design and experimental results are presented     

Spectral gain hole-burning at 1.53 μm in erbium-doped fiberamplifiers

Spectral gain hole-burning at λ₀=1.53 μm was observed in an erbium-doped fiber amplifier at temperatures between 4.2 and 77 K. The hole width was found to broaden with temperature for T ⩾20 K according to a T^1.73 law. From the data, the room-temperature homogeneous linewidth associated with the 1.531-μm transition in the ⁴I_13/2-⁴I_15/2 laser system was determined to be Δλ_h=11.5 nm for aluminosilicate fibers     

Merged Sagnac-Michelson interferometer for distributed disturbancedetection

An interferometric technique is described to detect and locate perturbations along an optical fiber. This distributed sensor has a position dependent response to time-varying disturbances such as strain or temperature. These disturbances cause a phase shift which is detected and converted to spatial information, The sensor consists of a Sagnac interferometer merged with a Michelson interferometer. This is achieved by a frequency selective mirror in the center of the Sagnac-loop. The sensor is illuminated by two light sources with wavelengths λ₁ and λ₂, respectively. The mirror reflects λ₁ and transmits λ₂, causing the interferometer to operate as a Michelson at wavelength λ₁ and as a Sagnac at wavelength λ₂. Any time-varying perturbation on, the fiber will, result in a signal at λ₂ proportional to the product of the rate of phase change caused by the perturbation and the distance of the perturbation relative to the position of the mirror. The output of the Michelson interferometer at wavelength λ₁ is proportional to the phase change caused by the unknown perturbation. By dividing the output of the Sagnac interferometer by the time rate of change of the Michelson interferometer signal, the position of the disturbance relative to the mirror is located. Results obtained with a 200 m-distributed fiber sensor are discussed     

A curved spiral antenna above a conducting cylinder

A curved spiral antenna above a finite hollow conducting cylinder is analyzed using the method of moments. The effects of cylinder length 2H and cylinder radius r_cy on the radiation characteristics of the spiral are evaluated. As 2H increases, the cross-polarization component of the radiation field in the broadside direction decreases to a constant value (approximately -18 dB). When 2H is greater than one wavelength (λ₀), the input impedance of the spiral above a cylinder of radius r_cy=0.25 λ₀ is almost constant (250-j20 Ω) with a gain of approximately 7 dB. The spiral above a cylinder of (2H, r_cy)=(2.7 λ₀, 0.25 λ₀) shows a 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of approximately 23%, which is wider than a flat spiral antenna above a flat ground plane of infinite extent     

Optimal probability-of-error thresholds and performance for twoversions of the sign detector

Expressions are obtained for specifying the optimal error probability (minimum P_e) thresholds λ₀₁ and λ₀₂ for the traditional and modified sign detectors, respectively. These thresholds are shown to depend on the parameters p, P₁, and M where: M is the number of observations z_i used in the test statistic; P₁=P(H₁ ) is the prior probability for hypothesis H₁ that signal s₁ is present and 1-P₁ =P(H₀) corresponds to the hypothesis H₀ that signal s₀ is present; and p=Pr{z_i⩾0|H₁} with s₀=0 for the traditional sign detector and p=Pr{z_i⩾λ|H₁ }=Pr{z_i<λ|H₀} with λ =(s₀+s₁)/2 for the modified sign detector. The expressions for λ₀₁ and λ₀₂, are given explicitly, and shown to be independent of P₁ for sufficiently large M. Optimal P_e versus M performance curves, corresponding to both versions of the sign detector, are obtained for a representative range of values for p and P₁     

Small circularly polarised printed antenna

A compact circularly polarised printed antenna is presented. The antenna consists of a synchronous subarray of shorted patches with the required feed network etched on a high dielectric constant substrate located below the ground-plane of the antenna. The 10 dB return loss and the 3dB axial ratio bandwidths are 8.5 and 11.3%, respectively. The overall size of the proposed antenna is 0.195 λ₀×0.195 λ₀×0.0523λ₀     

Tilted- and axial-beam formation by a single-arm rectangular spiralantenna with compact dielectric substrate and conducting plane

A single-arm rectangular spiral antenna is analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain method. The spiral is printed on a finite-size dielectric substrate backed by a finite-size conducting plane. Both the substrate and conducting planes are square with a side length L of less than 0.6λ₀ (λ₀: wavelength in free space). The radiation pattern is dependent on the outermost arm peripheral length C. The spiral whose peripheral length is within 2λ_gg (λ_g: the guided wavelength of the current) radiates a tilted beam of circular polarization. When the peripheral length is decreased to λ_gg, the spiral radiates an axial beam. The axial beam has a wide half-power beam width of approximately 102° (for L≈0.369λ₀) with a gain of approximately 6.7 dB. The axial beam shows a 15% frequency bandwidth for a 3 dB axial ratio criterion. Over this bandwidth, the voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) is less than two, as desired. The experimental results for the radiation pattern, gain, axial ratio, and VSWR are also presented     

New converses in the theory of identification via channels

New converses for identification via arbitrary single-user and multiple-access channels, with finite first- and second-type probabilities of error, are developed. For the arbitrary single-user channel, it is shown that (λ₁, λ₂)-identification capacity is upper-bounded by λ-capacity, and optimistic (λ₁,λ₂ )-identification capacity is upper-bounded by optimistic λ-capacity, for any λ>λ₁+λ₂. The bounds become tight at the limit of the vanishing probabilities of error, thus generalizing previous results by Han and Verdu (1992), who showed that the identification capacity is equal to transmission capacity for channels satisfying the strong converse of the channel coding theorem. A by-product of the new identification converses is a general formula for optimistic λ-capacity. An outer bound on the (λ₁, λ₂)-identification capacity region of an arbitrary multiple-access channel is developed. A consequence of this bound is that the identification capacity region is equal to the transmission capacity region for any stationary, finite-memory multiple-access channel. The key tool in proving these bounds is the partial resolvability of a channel, a new notion in resolvability theory, which deals with approximation of the output statistics on a suitably chosen part of the output alphabet. This notion of approximation enables us to get sharp bounds on identification for arbitrary channels, and to extend these bounds to the multiple-access channel     

Inverted-F antennas with wideband match performance

Novel inverted-F antennas, double-wire (DW-IFA) and double-strip (DS-IFA) were developed for f₀ = 2.45 GHz, and a 0.8λ ₀ in size square ground plate. The antennas are distinctive for their wideband match performance, 12% (numerical) for DW-IFA and 18% (numerical)/17% (experimental) for DS-IFA, and radiation characteristics suitable for the mobile environment scenario     

High-nonlinearity fiber optical parametric amplifier with periodicdispersion compensation

Theory shows that the maximum gain and bandwidth of one-pump fiber optical parametric amplifiers made from high-nonlinearity fiber, operated with a pump wavelength λ_p far from the fiber zero-dispersion wavelength λ₀ can greatly be improved by periodic dispersion compensation. We have performed experiments and obtained good agreement with theory: for λ_p=1542 and λ₀=1591 nm, we have increased the bandwidth from 7 to 28 nm, and the maximum gain from 15 to 20 dB, by splicing three pieces of standard fiber at regular intervals in a 40-m long nonlinear fiber     

Grating compensation of third-order fiber dispersion

Subpicosecond optical pulses propagating in single-mode fibers are severely distorted by third-order dispersion even at the fiber's zero-dispersion wavelength (λ₀). Using cross-correlation techniques, the authors measured the broadening of a 100-fs pulse to more than 5 ps after passing through 400 m of fiber near λ₀. The measured asymmetric and oscillatory pulse shape is in agreement with calculations. A grating and telescope apparatus was configured to simultaneously equalize both third- and second-order dispersion for wavelengths slightly longer than λ ₀. Nearly complete compensation has been demonstrated for fiber lengths of 400 m and 3 km of dispersion-shifted fiber at wavelengths of 1560-1580 nm. For the longer fibers, fourth-order dispersion due to the grating becomes important     

Wavelength-tunable electrooptic polarization conversion inbirefringent waveguides

Wavelength-tunable, electrooptic polarization conversion in a birefringent waveguide accomplished with a multiple cascade of alternating TE←→TM mode converter and TE/TM phase shifter sections is analyzed. Such polarization converters have been demonstrated in LiNbO₃ and have been used as electrooptically tunable narrowband (Δλ⩽λ₀/1000) wavelength filters with tuning ranges of at least λ₀/200. It is shown that the polarization converter requires only two independent drive voltages and provides arbitrary polarization transformations from any general input polarization to any desired output polarization with simultaneous wavelength tunability. The device is characterized by its overall transfer matrix and the optical bandwidths and tuning ranges for various electrode geometries     

Pressure-dependent Sellmeier coefficients and material dispersionsfor silica fiber glass

The pressure-dependent Sellmeier coefficients are essential to characterize the optical design parameters for the optical fiber communication systems under deep sea environmental conditions. These coefficients are calculated for densified silica glass for the first time to compute the pressure dependence of material dispersion at any wavelength from the ultraviolet (UV) to 1.71 μm. The zero dispersion wavelength λ₀ (1.2725 μm at 0.1 10⁶ N m ^-2) varies linearly with pressure, and dλ₀/dP is 0.0027 nm/(10⁶ N m^-2). The calculated value is approximately one-third of the experimental value of 0.0076 nm/(10⁶ N m^-2) for a germanium-doped dispersion shifted fiber having λ₀=1.5484 μm and -0.0070 nm/(10⁶ N m^-2) for a pure silica-core fiber cable having λ₀ =1.2860 μm. Since, the refractive indexes are increased with pressure, the negative value of shift of the zero-dispersion wavelength is erroneous. The explanations are due to Ge-doping in silica glass, a possible temperature fluctuation of 0.16°C in the pressure-dependent measurement system of the zero dispersion wavelength and different experimental conditions of the silica glass and the optical fibers. This anomaly can also be attributed to the internal strain development at the core-cladding and fiber-jacketing boundaries due to pressure, which shows a larger experimental value. It accounts for the experimental values satisfactorily     

Full-wave analysis of choking characteristics of sleeve balun oncoaxial cables

An optimal design for a sleeve balun with maximum choking on a coaxial cable is determined using a full-wave body of revolution finite difference time domain method with perfectly matched layer boundary conditions. An analysis of the sensitivity of choke length L and outer diameter R₂ on choking effectiveness was carried out. A balun with L=77.5 mm (0.232λ₀) and R₂=8 mm on a cable with R₁=2 mm (R₂/R₁=4) results in an S₂₁ of -20 dB at 900 MHz and -15.5 dB at 2730 MHz. The isolation of the balun at 900 MHz is quickly degraded as the R₂ /R₁ ratio is reduced below 2. Increasing R₂/R₁ to 8, results in a reduction of optimum balun length L to approximately 0.215λ₀, approximately 14% shorter than the typical recommended length for an 'ideal' quarter-wave balun     

Comparison of radio-frequency and microwave superconductingproperties of YBaCuO dedicated to magnetic resonance imaging

Properties of YBaCuO thin films are evaluated in two distinct frequency ranges using different patterns made during the same process on LaAlO₃ substrate. Microwave superconducting properties in the range 1-45 GHz are determined by S-parameters measurement of a superconducting coplanar waveguide in the range 53-95 K. We obtain a surface resistance of 0.4 mΩ at 10.8 GHz and 77 K. Radio-frequency properties are obtained by measuring the Q-factor of a superconducting resonator (YBCO multiturn transmission lines separated by a sapphire sheet) dedicated to surface magnetic resonance imaging. At 52 MHz and 77 K we measure a Q-factor of 33180. The extraction of the radio-frequency surface resistance from Q-factor measurements in the 64-95 K range takes into account external loss mechanisms and nonuniform normal current distribution and leads to a 0.0093-μΩ surface resistance at 52 MHz and 77 K, in good agreement with the value extrapolated from microwave measurements assuming an ω² frequency dependence. The evaluation of λ₀ is carried out by using several models for X_L(t). Least squares fits to data in the microwave and radio-frequency domain are performed using the Gorter-Casimir expression for X_L(t) and give the same λ₀ value for both devices     

Small eletric monopole mode dielectric resonator antenna

A novel dielectric resonator (DR) antenna is reported. The lowest order mode of the proposed antenna radiates like an electric monopole. The dimensions of the antenna are much smaller than a previously reported structure radiating in a similar mode, e.g. for an antenna fabricated out of ε_r=20 material, the diameter and height of the DR are ~0.08 λ₀ each     

Modified planar inverted F antenna

The design of a modified planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) which is more compact (antenna length <λ₀/8 and antenna height <0.01 λ₀) and has a much wider antenna bandwidth (greater than 10 times that of a simple PIFA) is demonstrated. The reduction in antenna length is achieved by meandering the radiating patch, while the enhanced bandwidth with low antenna height is obtained using a chip-resistor load in place of the shorting post. A typical design of the modified PIFA in the 800 MHz band has been implemented, and experimental results are presented and discussed