Multiwavelength and Tunable Self-Pulsating Fiber Cavity Based on Regenerative SPM Spectral Broadening and Filtering

We experimentally demonstrate the operation of a pulsed source based on self-phase modulation followed by offset spectral filtering. This source has three operation regimes: a continuous-wave regime, a self-pulsating (SP) regime where the source self ignites and produces pulses, and a pulse-buffering (PB) regime where no new pulse is formed from spontaneous noise but only pulses already propagating, or potentially pulses injected in the cavity, can be sustained. In the SP and PB regimes, the pulsed source is multiwavelength and continuously tunable over the entire gain band of the amplifiers. The output pulsewidth is quasi-transform-limited with respect to the spectral-width of the filters used in the cavity. Overall, this device is extremely simple to implement and is a strong candidate as a pulsed source and for signal buffering.