Real-time multispeckle spectral-temporal measurement unveils the complexity of spatiotemporal solitons

Yuankai Guo,Wei Lin,Zhongmin Yang,Xiaoming Wei,Wenlong Wang,Xiaoxiao Wen

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20438-z

Abstract

The dynamics of three-dimensional (3D) dissipative solitons originated from spatiotemporal interactions share many common characteristics with other multi-dimensional phenomena. Unveiling the dynamics of 3D solitons thus permits new routes for tackling multidisciplinary nonlinear problems and exploiting their instabilities. However, this remains an open challenge, as they are multi-dimensional, stochastic and non-repeatable. Here, we report the real-time speckle-resolved spectral-temporal dynamics of a 3D soliton laser using a single-shot multispeckle spectral-temporal technology that leverages optical time division multiplexing and photonic time stretch. This technology enables the simultaneous observation on multiple speckle grains to provide long-lasting evolutionary dynamics on the planes of cavity time (t) – roundtrip and spectrum (λ) – roundtrip. Various non-repeatable speckly-diverse spectral-temporal dynamics are discovered in both the early and established stages of the 3D soliton formation.

Highlights

The dynamics of three-dimensional (3D) dissipative solitons originated from spatiotemporal interactions share many common characteristics with other multi-dimensional phenomena
To excite higher-order modes, a core offset of ~20 μm is applied to the fusion splicing connection between the few-mode gain fiber and multimode GRIN fiber, where a low-order mode can be converted to higher-order ones
To conclude, we have developed a real-time speckle-resolved spectral-temporal observation system to dissect the dynamics of 3D dissipative solitons

Summary

Introduction

The dynamics of three-dimensional (3D) dissipative solitons originated from spatiotemporal interactions share many common characteristics with other multi-dimensional phenomena. Unveiling the dynamics of 3D solitons permits new routes for tackling multidisciplinary nonlinear problems and exploiting their instabilities This remains an open challenge, as they are multi-dimensional, stochastic and non-repeatable. The real-time observation on 3D soliton dynamics, has been largely unexplored, and applying traditional technologies to 3D soliton dynamics is not straightforward[32,33,34,35,36] Spatiotemporal technologies, such as delay-scanning off-axis digital holography[15], TERMITES34, SEA TADPOLE37, and other counterparts[38,39], have recently been demonstrated to study 3D femtosecond pulses with high temporal resolutions—powerful tools for the characterization and optimization of ultrashort pulse lasers. The speckle-resolved spectraltemporal decomposition of complex multi-soliton dynamics establishes a perfect knowledge of the 3D soliton formation, which sheds new light on understanding the physical nature of 3D dissipative solitons and exploiting their complex instabilities

Methods

Results

Conclusion