The Taguchi method for optimizing nonlinear pulse propagation in optical fibers

Abstract

Understanding the nuances of nonlinear pulse propagation in optical fibers has led to several impactful applications across domains like optical communications, sensing and biophotonics. A key aspect in this regard is the use of appropriate optimization strategies for attaining requisite performance parameters. In this paper, we present the Taguchi method as a viable tool for optimizing nonlinear pulse propagation in optical fibers. We show that its use of the orthogonal arrays leads to rapid convergences to the desired pulse parameters, with even faster convergences obtained by favouring exploitation over exploration. We demonstrate the application of the method using two well-known problems from the field - the guiding center soliton, and soliton order conservation in dispersion decreasing fibers - which serve to underscore its salient features and also its potential for solution discovery across nonlinear pulse propagation problems.

Figures (8)

• Figure 1: Taguchi method workflow for a three-parameter three-level experiment.
• Figure 2: Convergence results obtained with the Taguchi method for the guiding center problem with $RR = 0.8$ for a. $N_0 = 1$, b. $N_0 = 1.3285$.
• Figure 3: Propagation characteristics of the guiding center soliton obtained with the Taguchi method for a, b. $N_0 = 1$; c, d. $N_0 = 1.3285$. The soliton orders after each amplifier location (Figs. b,d) are close to the desired value $N_0$. The orange dotted plots (Figs.c,d) and insets show the results of the split-step method obtained using the theoretical values of the gain and launch power for comparison.
• Figure 4: Exploration vs. exploitation control using the reduction rate $RR$ with $N_0 = 1$. Convergence characteristics of a. Gain $G$ and c. Soliton power $P_{0,Launch}$ across iterations with the reduction rate as a parameter; b. Converged $G$ and $P_{0,Launch}$ values after 30 iterations; d. Difference between launched soliton power and that from the last amplifier (left axis), and median soliton order across amplifers (right axis). Box plots (Figs. b, d) show the distribution of the peak soliton powers and the soliton order just after each amplifier in the chain. Low variation in the peak power and soliton order characteristics across a range of $RR$ values confirm the guided nature of the solution.
• Figure 5: Convergence characteristics obtained with the Taguchi method for the dispersion decreasing fiber problem for two reduction rates; a. $RR = 0.8$, b. $RR=0.9$.