Femtosecond solitary waves in optical fibers—beyond the slowly varying envelope approximation

Abstract

We present a theoretical calculation which demonstrates that optical solitary waves can propagate in an optical fiber well into the femtosecond regime. Dispersive effects up to fourth order have been considered and more importantly, the ‘‘slowly varying envelope’’ approximation is not invoked. The optical fiber which can support such a wave must exhibit negative fourth‐order dispersion ( β^IV_0e <0) and must be used close to appropriate ‘‘operating’’ points. Use of such waves in optical fiber communication systems may finally result in the full exploitation of the bandwidth of light.