Abstract
Mode locking is a non-equilibrium steady state. Capability to control mode-locking states can be used to improve performance as well as shed light on non-equilibrium physics using the laser as an experimental platform. We demonstrate direct control of the mode-locking state using spectral pulse shaping by incorporating a spatial light modulator at a Fourier plane inside the cavity of an Yb-doped fiber laser. We show that we can halt and restart mode locking, suppress instabilities, induce controlled reversible and irreversible transitions between mode-locking states, and perform advanced pulse shaping while using pulses as short as 40 fs.
Highlights
The technological importance of passively mode-locked fiber lasers is well recognized [1,2]
Mode locking is of fundamental importance, since it is inherently nonlinear [3,4,5] and constitutes a non-equilibrium steady state [6]
2003, the similariton laser in 2004 [13], the all-normal dispersion laser [14] in 2008, supporting dissipative solitons [15], and the soliton–similariton laser [16] in 2010, which is the only laser to date that has two types of nonlinear waves propagating in the cavity [17]
Summary
The technological importance of passively mode-locked fiber lasers is well recognized [1,2]. We report on direct control of the mode-locking states, nonlinear restructuring of each state, and reversible and irreversible transitions between them, based on algorithmic modulation of the pulse in the spectral domain directly inside the cavity.
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