Self-phase modulation and transmission in optical fibers

The self-modulation effects in fibers and the role of linear dispersion are described, pointing out that while self-phase modulation can significantly broaden the spectrum of a pulse propagating over a long fiber length, the same mechanism allows, under certain circumstances, the transmission of short pulses without distortion. The investigation of nonlinear propagation in a single-mode fiber, taking advantage of the formalism of couple-mode equations, is proposed in order to contribute to the study of the transmission of stable solitary pulses.