Dispersion-managed solitons in a fiber loop with in-line filtering

We investigate both numerically and experimentally soliton propagation in a fiber loop with dispersion management, in-line filters, and frequency shifting. More than 90% of the fiber in the loop is in the normal-dispersion regime, but the net dispersion is anomalous. Stable pulses in the loop have an enhanced power relative to solitons in a fiber with uniform dispersion equal to the loop's path-averaged dispersion. Because the loop's path-averaged dispersion is small, the in-line filtering and the frequency shifting play an important role in pulse shaping. Recirculating loop experiments that demonstrate stable pulse propagation over 28,000 km are consistent with results from computer modeling. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.