Measurement of the effective area of non-linear power transfer in single-mode fibers due to stimulated Raman scattering

A method to measure the non-linear effective area in single-mode fibers is described. It is based on a Raman non-linear effect characterization set-up that uses a continuous-wave double beam arrangement in counter-propagating configuration. Non-linear effective areas are theoretically evaluated and experimentally determined for various types of fibers (standard single-mode fiber, dispersion-shifted fiber and large effective area dispersion-shifte d fiber) and a correction factor that relates these effective areas with th e mode field diameters of the fibers is introduced for taking into account the departures of the power distributions from the Gaussian shape. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.