Numerical study of all-optical slow-light delays via stimulated Brillouin scattering in an optical fiber

We study numerically all-optical slow-light delays in room-temperature single-mode optical fibers induced by stimulated Brillouin scattering. We consider the propagation of a pulse through a cw-pumped Brillouin fiber amplifier, where the carrier frequency of the pulse is tuned near the Stokes resonance. Pulse delay and broadening of the Stokes pulse are studied in the small-signal and gain-saturation regimes. Pulse delay is shown to be limited by saturation of the Brillouin amplifier. In the small-signal regime, both time delay and pulse broadening increase with increasing gain. In the gain-saturation regime, both time delay and broadening decrease with increasing gain, and the pulse even achieves advancement. Time delay of more than one pulse-width is observed with modest pulse distortion, and over one pulse-width advancement can be obtained with larger pulse distortion in the gain-saturation regime. © 2005 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 290.5900, 060.2430, 190.5890, 190.5530.