OPTICAL-FIBER SOLITONS, THEIR PROPERTIES AND USES

The history and mathematical formulation of the solitons are briefly r eviewed. Solitons of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation are studied in greater detail because they describe nonlinear pulse propagation on d ispersive optical fibers. The proposal by A. Hasegawa and the experime nts of L. F. Mollenauer on long distance soliton propagation for use i n repeaterless transoceanic fiber transmission cables are described. I n 1986, limitations on the distance that can be spanned by a repeaterl ess link for a given bit-rate were shown to exist. It has been shown r ecently that by proper design these limitations can be overcome, so th at newer transoceanic cable designs are likely to utilize solitons. Th e special properties of solitons make them particularly suited for all optical switching and logic operations. Some recent experiments with such switches are described.