New all-optical devices based on third-order nonlinearity of birefringent fibers

Abstract

Exact solutions for the evolution of the state of polarization along a nonlinear single-mode birefringent fiber are given by means of the Poincaré sphere representation. This approach clearly shows the possibility of realizing a new class of devices, namely, a linear coherent amplifier–mixer and an optically activated polarization switch or a phase-sensitive optical discriminator with high fanout.