Modulational instability and generation of pulse trains in asymmetric dual-core nonlinear optical fibers

Instability of continuous-wave (CW) states is investigated in a system of two parallel-coupled fibers, with a pumped (active) nonlinear dispersive core and a lossy (passive) linear one. Modulational instability (MI) conditions are found from linearized equations for small perturbations, the results being drastically different for the normal and anomalous group-velocity dispersion (GVD) in the active core. Simulations of the full system demonstrate that the development of the MI in the former regime leads to establishment of a regular or chaotic array of pulses, if the MI saturates, or a chain of well-separated peaks with continuously growing amplitudes if the instability does not saturate. In the anomalous-GVD regime, a chain of return-to-zero (RZ) peaks, or a single RZ peak emerge, also with growing amplitudes. The latter can be used as a source of RZ pulses for optical telecommunications.