摘要： This introductory chapter is intended to provide an overview of the fiber characteristics that are important for understanding the nonlinear effects discussed in later chapters. Section 1.1 provides a historical perspective on the progress in the field of fiber optics. Section 1.2 discusses various fiber properties such as optical loss, chromatic dispersion, and birefringence. Particular attention is paid to chromatic dispersion because of its importance in the study of nonlinear effects probed by using ultrashort optical pulses. Section 1.3 introduces various nonlinear effects resulting from the intensity dependence of the refractive index and stimulated inelastic scattering. Among the nonlinear effects that have been studied extensively using optical fibers as a nonlinear medium are self-phase modulation, cross-phase modulation, four-wave mixing, stimulated Raman scattering, and stimulated Brillouin scattering. Each of these effects is considered in detail in separate chapters. Section 1.4 gives an overview of how this book is organized for discussing such a wide variety of nonlinear effects in optical fibers.