Solitons in Optical Communications

Book excerpt: Solitons--waves that do not disperse as they travel through a medium--are the most recent and perhaps the most remarkable development in the revolution in telecommunications technology. When coupled with low loss fibers, semiconductor lasers, and erbium doped fibre amplifiers, solitons can carry--with perfect accuracy and at enormous rates--staggering amounts of information across vast distances. Authored by two leaders in the field, this book offers the best, most comprehensive introduction to soliton behavior in optical fibers available. Topics range from the dielectric fiber to the concept of guiding center (average) solitons to transmission control to modulational instability. Solitons in Optical Communications will be avidly read by students and researchers in optical communications and applied mathematics looking for the definitive survey of the hottest topic in telecommunications engineering.