Multiple Bound State Soliton Pulses in the All Polarization Maintaining Fiber Laser

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Bound state soliton pulses are a key mode-locked output in fiber lasers.
• Understanding soliton interactions is crucial for mode-locked pulse generation mechanisms.
• Novel saturable absorbers (SA) are needed to explore advanced soliton dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate bound state soliton pulse phenomena in a fiber laser.
• To evaluate the performance of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) saturable absorber.
• To explore the potential of the system as a seed source for high-power fiber lasers.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a custom saturable absorber using SWCNTs.
• Integration of the SA into a fully polarization-maintaining (PM) erbium-doped fiber laser.
• Observation and characterization of various bound state soliton pulse states.

Main Results:

• Observed diverse bound state phenomena: double bound states, bound states of double pulse bound states, and multi-pulse bound states.
• Demonstrated excellent nonlinear absorption of the SWCNT SA and superior optical properties of the all-PM fiber laser.
• Highlighted strong interactions between bound state solitons and the stability of the PM optical path.

Conclusions:

• The SWCNT SA enables the generation of abundant and complex bound soliton pulse states.
• The all-PM fiber laser setup exhibits excellent optical properties and stability.
• The system shows promise as a seed source for enhancing the stability of high-power fiber lasers.