Carving out configurable ultrafast pulses from a continuous wave source via the optical Kerr effect

Wavelength-tunable, time-locked pairs of ultrafast pulses are crucial in modern-day time-resolved measurements. We demonstrate a simple means of generating configurable optical pulse sequences: sub-picosecond pulses are carved out from a continuous wave laser via pump-induced optical Kerr switching in 10 cm of a commercial single-mode fiber. By introducing dispersion to the pump, the near transform-limited switched pulse duration is tuned between 305-570 fs. Two- and four-pulse signal trains are also generated by adding birefringent α-BBO plates in the pump beam. These results highlight an ultrafast light source with intrinsic timing stability and pulse-to-pulse phase coherence, where pulse generation could be adapted to wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to infrared.