High-performance fiber lasers based on self-similar pulse propagation

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. However, recently another type of pulse, a self-similarly propagating parabolic solution found in fiber amplifiers, 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, in kilometer-long Raman oscillators, and in all-normal dispersion systems. 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)).