Bound states of dispersion-managed solitons in a fiber laser at near zero dispersion

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental observation of bound states of dispersion-managed solitons in a near-zero dispersion fiber laser, highlighting their unique spectral profiles and formation of complex bound states, supported by numerical simulations.

Contribution

First experimental demonstration of bound states of dispersion-managed solitons in a near-zero dispersion fiber laser with detailed spectral characterization.

Findings

Dispersion-managed solitons exhibit Gaussian-like spectra without sidebands.

Bound states with fixed soliton separations are observed.

Numerical simulations confirm experimental results.

Abstract

We report on the observation of various bound states of dispersion-managed (DM) solitons in a passively mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber ring laser at near zero net cavity group velocity dispersion (GVD). The generated DM solitons are characterized by their Gaussian-like spectral profile with no sidebands, which is distinct from those of the conventional solitons generated in fiber lasers with large net negative cavity GVD, of the parabolic pulses generated in fiber lasers with positive cavity GVD and negligible gain saturation and bandwidth limiting, and of the gain-guided solitons generated in fiber lasers with large positive cavity GVD. Furthermore, bound states of DM solitons with fixed soliton separations are also observed. We show that these bound solitons can function as a unit to form bound states themselves. Numerical simulations verified our experimental observations.