Suppression of pulse splitting in two-core optical fibers with Kerr nonlinearity

Intermodal dispersion (IMD) in a two-core fiber can cause significant pulse distortion or even pulse splitting. In this paper, by solving the generalized coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations, we study the possibility of suppressing the effects of IMD with Kerr nonlinearity in a two-core fiber. We discover that, in the anomalous dispersion regime, when the IMD is sufficiently small and the linear coupling between the two cores is sufficiently strong, an input pulse power larger than the soliton power can prevent the pulse from broadening and splitting. The maximum IMD that can be balanced by nonlinearity increases with the input power. Our study shows that a proper balance of the group-velocity dispersion, the IMD, and the nonlinearity in a two-core fiber can maintain the integrity of the pulse over a long distance. © 2013 Optical Society of America.