Abstract

Pulse shaping in ultra-fast passively mode-locked fiber lasers is primarily based on soliton solutions to the equations that underlie pulse formation in the optical cavity [1]. However, recently another type of pulse, a self-similarly propagating parabolic solution found in fiber amplifiers [2], has been found suitable for mode-locking high performance fiber lasers. These so-called amplifier similariton pulses exist in dispersion-managed cavities with soliton propagation [3], in kilometer-long Raman oscillators [4], and in all-normal dispersion systems [5]. Characterized by a strong local nonlinear attraction in the amplifier, these pulses exhibit parabolic pulse profiles (Fig. 1(a)) with large (20 times) spectral breathing, and ultra-short pulse durations (Fig. 1(c)).

© 2013 IEEE