Abstract

Erbium doped fibres have become an important source and amplifier of ultra-short pulses in the 1.5μm region where soliton effects have important implications for long distance transmission of optical data. We report on the observation of multiple soliton interactions in a mode-locked erbium fibre laser. Complex interactions including repulsive and attractive forces have been observed over temporal separations of the order of 250ns, resulting in complex pulse-trains.

© 1991 Optical Society of America