Abstract

Random fluctuations in birefringence along an optical fiber result in polarization-mode dispersion, which degrades the transmission rate in both NRZ and soliton systems. Recently, we proposed two physical models to study the polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) when the axes of birefringence rotate randomly.^1,2 In the first model, we allow the birefringence orientation to vary randomly but keep the strength fixed; in the second model, we assume that the birefringence orientation and strength have a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution. We show that the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which describes wave evolution over long lengths along a communication fiber, can be reduced to the Manakov equation with corrections due to linear and nonlinear PMD, i.e.

© 1996 Optical Society of America