120-fs single-pulse generation from stretched-pulse fiber Kerr resonators

Fiber Kerr resonators are simple driven resonators with desirable wavelength and repetition rate flexibility for generating ultrashort pulses for applications including telecommunications, biomedicine, and materials processing. However, fiber Kerr resonators to date often generate longer pulses and require more complicated techniques for generating single pulses than would be desirable for applications. Here we address these limits by demonstrating robust single-pulse performance supporting 120-fs pulse durations in fiber Kerr resonators based on stretched-pulse solitons. Through matching numerical and experimental studies, stretched-pulse soliton performance is found to strongly depend on the total cavity length, and the optimum length is found to depend on the drive, Raman scattering, and the total pulse stretching. The bandwidth increases with decreasing net dispersion, enabled by shorter total cavity lengths. In a cavity with an optimized length and the described setup, stable stretched-pulse solitons corresponding to 120-fs duration are experimentally observed. In addition, soliton trapping is demonstrated with a pulsed drive source despite large intracavity breathing, and single-pulse performance is observed. Robust with high performance single-pulse generation is a critical step toward useful femtosecond pulse generation.