Design of subpicosecond dispersion-flattened fibers

Dispersion flattened (DF) fibers are required for wide-band WDM systems. The DF fibers designed in the past have dispersion in the range of 2.0-3.0 ps/km-nm. In this letter, we define a generalized refractive index profile that can be characterized by few controlling parameters. An optimum refractive index profile is obtained by minimizing the maximum dispersion over the wavelength range of 1300-1600 nm with respect to profile parameters. The designed fiber gives dispersion less than 1.0 ps/km-nm over 1350-1590 nm wavelength range. Sensitivity of the dispersion performance to the profile parameters is also discussed.