Spectral sidebands and multipulse formation in passively mode-locked lasers (original) (raw)

Dispersive-wave mechanism of interaction between ultrashort pulses in passive mode-locked fiber lasers

Physical Review A, 2012

On the basis of numerical simulation, it is found that powerful long-distance soliton wings can be formed by dispersive waves which are emitted by solitons because of lumped elements in a laser cavity. We analyze peculiarities of the interaction of two solitons through such wings in lasers with lumped saturable absorbers. Various sets of bound steady states of a two-soliton molecule are demonstrated. The relation between the spectral sidebands and the dispersive-wave wings of a soliton is found. The periodic changes in a soliton's profile during its pass through the laser cavity are studied.

Multiple-Pulse Operation and Bound States of Solitons in Passive Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers

International Journal of …, 2011

We present results of our research on a multiple-pulse operation of passive mode-locked fiber lasers. The research has been performed on basis of numerical simulation. Multihysteresis dependence of both an intracavity energy and peak intensities of intracavity ultrashort pulses on pump power is found. It is shown that the change of a number of ultrashort pulses in a laser cavity can be realized by hard as well as soft regimes of an excitation and an annihilation of new solitons. Bound steady states of interacting solitons are studied for various mechanisms of nonlinear losses shaping ultrashort pulses. Possibility of coding of information on basis of soliton trains with various bonds between neighboring pulses is discussed. The role of dispersive wave emitted by solitons because of lumped intracavity elements in a formation of powerful soliton wings is analyzed. It is found that such powerful wings result in large bounding energies of interacting solitons in steady states. Various problems of a soliton interaction in passive mode-locked fiber lasers are discussed.

Analysis of soliton pattern formation in passively mode-locked fiber lasers

Physical Review A, 2008

We give a detailed theoretical analysis of spontaneous periodic pattern formation in fiber lasers. The pattern consists of a bound state of hundreds of pulses in a ring fiber laser passively mode locked by nonlinear rotation of the polarization. The phenomenon is described theoretically using a multiscale approach to the gain dynamics: the fast evolution of a small excess of gain is responsible for the stabilization of a periodic pattern, while the slow evolution of the mean value of gain explains the finite length of the quasiperiodic soliton train. The resulting model is well adapted to experimental observations in a Er:Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser.

Mechanism of multiple pulse formation in the normal dispersion regime of passively mode-locked fiber ring lasers

Optical Fiber Technology, 2008

We identify the spectral gain filtering as a mechanism of multiple pulse formation in a fiber laser passively mode-locked through nonlinear polarization rotation operating in the normal dispersion regime. A correlation is theoretically established between the spectral gain bandwidth and the possibility for the laser to deliver several pulses by cavity round-trip: narrow spectrum favours multiple pulsing. Moreover the model allows to show that spectral loss or gain filtering are equivalent with respect to their consequences on the multiple pulsing regime. Experimental results obtained with an erbium-doped fiber laser and an ytterbium-doped fiber laser confirm the theoretical calculations. In addition, an indirect confirmation of the influence of the spectral filtering is proposed using an experimental setup involving a unique laser.

Interaction of dual-frequency pulses in passively mode-locked lasers

We have found, numerically, that three stable pulses of diferent shapes can exist in systems described by the complex Ginzburg±Landau equation, such as passively mode-locked lasers with a fast saturable absorber. At the same cavity parameter values, however, only two of them can coexist, which two depending on the particular values of the parameters. The region of existence for each pulse is investigated numerically. The interaction between each pair of pulses is studied numerically. Using the interaction plane technique, we have found stable bound states of composite pulses.

Ultrashort pulse formation and evolution in mode-locked fiber lasers

Applied Physics B, 2011

Passive mode-locking in fiber lasers is investigated by numerical and experimental means. A nondistributed scalar model solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equation is implemented to study the starting behavior and intra-cavity dynamics numerically. Several operation regimes at positive net-cavity dispersion are experimentally accessed and studied in different environmentally stable, linear laser configurations. In particular, pulse formation and evolution in the chirped-pulse regime at highly positive cavity dispersion is discussed. Based on the experimental results a route to highly energetic pulse solutions is shown in numerical simulations. 1 Introduction Lasers have been the subject of extensive research and development over the last 50 years, driven by their huge application potential. However, laser oscillators may be likewise

Pulse shaping in mode-locked fiber lasers by in-cavity spectral filter

Optics Letters, 2014

We numerically show the possibility of pulse shaping in a passively mode-locked fiber laser by inclusion of a spectral filter into the laser cavity. Depending on the amplitude transfer function of the filter, we are able to achieve various regimes of advanced temporal waveform generation, including ones featuring bright and dark parabolic-, flat-top-, triangular-and saw-tooth-profiled pulses. The results demonstrate the strong potential of an in-cavity spectral pulse shaper for controlling the dynamics of mode-locked fiber lasers.

Dynamics of noise-like pulsing at sub-ns scale in a passively mode-locked fiber laser

We report an original noise-like pulse dynamics observed in a figure-eight fiber laser, in which fragments are continually released from a main waveform that circulates in the cavity. Particularly, we report two representative cases of the dynamics: in the first case the released fragments drift away from the main bunch and decay over a fraction of the round-trip time, and then vanish suddenly; in the second case, the sub-packets drift without decaying over the complete cavity round-trip time, until they eventually merge again with the main waveform. The most intriguing result is that these fragments, as well as the main waveform, are formed of units with sub-ns duration and roughly the same energy.

Real-time characterization of spectral instabilities in a mode-locked fibre laser exhibiting soliton-similariton dynamics

Scientific Reports, 2019

The study of dissipative solitons in mode-locked lasers reveals a rich landscape of interaction dynamics resulting from the interplay of nonlinearity, dispersion and dissipation. Here, we characterize a range of instabilities in a dissipative soliton fibre laser in a regime where both conventional soliton and similariton propagation play significant roles in the intracavity pulse shaping. Specifically, we use the Dispersive Fourier Transform technique to perform real-time spectral measurements of buildup dynamics from noise to the generation of stable single pulses, phase evolution dynamics of bound state “similariton molecules”, and several examples of intermittent instability and explosion dynamics. These results show that the instabilities previously seen in other classes of passively mode-locked fibre lasers are also observed in the presence of strong nonlinear attraction of similariton evolution in an optical fibre amplifier.