Tailoring of multi-pulse dynamics in mode-locked laser via optoacoustic manipulation of quasi-continuous-wave background

Abstract

A variety of nonequilibrium multi-pulse states can emerge in a mode-locked laser through the interactions between the quasi-continuous-wave background (qCWB) and optical pulses inside the laser cavity. However, they have been long regarded as unpredictable and hardly controllable due to the noise-like nature of the qCWB, and relevant previous studies thus lack a clear understanding of their underlying mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that the qCWB landscape can be manipulated via optoacoustically mediated interactions between the qCWB and mode-locked pulses, which dramatically alters the behaviors of multi-pulse dynamics in unprecedented manners. In this process, impulsive qCWB modulations are created at well-defined temporal locations, which act as the point emitters and attractive potentials for drifting pulse bunches and soliton rains. Hence, we can transport a single pulse bunch from a certain temporal position to another on the qCWB, and also make the soliton rain created and collided exclusively at specific temporal locations, in sharp contrast to the conventional cases. Our study opens up new possibilities to control the nonequilibrium multi-pulse phenomena precisely in the time domain, which would not only help the observation and clear understanding of undiscovered features of multi-pulse dynamics but offer a practical means of advanced optical information processing.

Optomechanical-organized multipulse dynamics in ultrafast fiber laser*

“…As proved in Ref. [26], the TR 2m acoustic response induces polarization modulation which can be transformed into the intensity modulation through the NPR mode-locker, i.e., the optomechanical lattices of the TR 2m acoustic vibration act as an intensity modulator in NPR-based mode-locked fiber lasers. In the selforganization process, a relatively large pulses excites the TR 21 acoustic response, which induces the equidistant optomechan-114203-4 ical lattices.…”

“…[24] The polarization modulation can be transformed into the intensity modulation through polarizer, which can characterize the diameter of fibers [25] and give rise to the modulation peak of continuous wave in nonlinear-polarization-rotation (NPR) mode-locked fiber lasers. [26] Although the gain of the TR 2m is generally lower than that of R 0m acoustic mode, the recent experimental results have demonstrated the ability to stabilize the HML by the TR 2m acoustic resonance. [27] We have also demonstrated that the GHz HML can be predominately stabilized by the TR 21 rather than R 01 acoustic resonance in microfiber-assisted ultrafast fiber laser.…”