Modulational instability (MI) in a twin-core optical fiber with the combined effect of saturation of nonlinearity (SNL) and coupling coefficient dispersion (CCD) is presented. The CCD does not dramatically modify the spectrum of the symmetric or antisymmetric continuous wave (CW) case, but the SNL on the other hand behaves in a perceptible manner such that the gain and the unstable region inherently decrease. In the anomalous dispersion region, the gain of the instability spectrum increases (decreases) monotonously with power (coupling coefficient). The effective nonlinearity and the power threshold for the sustained CW solution becomes a function of power for the SNL case. The so-called nonlinear factor behaves in a unique way such that there exist two powers for the same value of nonlinear factor. The interplay between CCD and SNL is emphasized, where any nonzero value of CCD leads to new instability bands and the saturation on the other hand suppresses the gain of the instability band. We identified a pair of power corresponding to the constant value of the nonlinear factor, where the system becomes invariant, such that the number of instability bands, the gain, and the range of the unstable region are all preserved. In the case of the normal dispersion case, the MI is achieved purely by means of the coupling coefficient. In both cases, a critical CCD is predicted, where the system evolves dramatically in a different manner.

• Received 7 November 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.87.043805