Pulse broadening induced by dispersion fluctuations in optical fibers

A general theory is presented to describe the effects of dispersion fluctuations on optical pulses propagating inside single-mode fibers modeled as a linear dispersive medium. It is shown that the pulse broadening induced by dispersion fluctuations can be quite large in dispersion-managed lightwave systems, especially at high bit rates, and can exceed that induced by third-order dispersion and polarization mode dispersion. 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved