Design of optimal length low-dispersion FBG filter using covariance matrix adapted evolution

The design of a low-dispersion fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with an optimal grating length using covariance matrix adapted evolution strategy (CMAES) is presented. A novel objective function formulation is proposed for the optimal grating length low-dispersion FBG design. The CMAES algorithm employs adaptive learning procedure to identify correlations among the design parameters. The design of a low-dispersion FBG filter with 25-GHz (or 0.2 nm in the 1550-nm band) bandwidth is considered. Simulation results, obtained using the codes available in public domain (the codes are available from the third author), show that the CMAES algorithm is more appropriate for the practical design of length optimized FBG-based filters when compared with the other optimization methods.