DISPERSION CHARACTERISTICS OF NONUNIFORM BRAGG GRATINGS - IMPLICATIONS FOR WDM COMMUNICATION-SYSTEMS

The dispersive nature of Bragg gratings in transmission can result in pulse degradation which limits transmission rates and/or distances in WDM communication systems. Using an effective medium treatment we stud y theoretically and experimentally the dispersion characteristics of n onuniform Bragg gratings. We show that in the ''wings'' of a nonunifor m Bragg grating the dispersion depends on only a few integrated proper ties of the grating. The results indicate that there are severe limita tions to the engineering that can be done to minimize the dispersion i n the wings of a grating by the design of its detailed structure. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.