Optical pulse reshaping based on the nonlinear birefringence of single-mode optical fibers

We report the observation of strong reshaping of 3-psec dye-laser pulses by nonlinear birefringence during passage through a 150-cm-long, single-mode optical fiber and a crossed polarizer. For lower-intensity input pulses to the fiber, the transmitted pulses were observed to be proportional to the cube of the input pulses. With increased intensity, more-complicated pulse shapes were obtained. Our experimental results agree well with the predicted intensity dependence of the reshaping action.