Stretched cavity soliton in dispersion-managed Kerr resonators

Abstract

Stretched cavity soliton (SCS) in dispersion-managed nonlinear resonators is numerically investigated. SCS is found to stretch and compress twice during a round-trip propagation inside the dispersion-managed resonator, exhibiting a pulse dynamics similar to dispersion-managed mode-locked femtosecond lasers. Even though the breathing ratio is relatively small, the characteristics of SCS are significantly modified by the pulse stretching dynamics in the resonator. The output pulse will have a flatter spectrum around the center frequency. However, the power for the comb lines at the wing of the spectrum decays faster than the conventional sech-shaped CS, making dispersion wave emission harder to be excited in dispersion-managed resonators. Furthermore, stretching of the pulse lowers the nonlinear phase shift and makes it more resistant towards breather soliton instability. When shortening the cavity length to the microresonator scale, we find that ultrashort pulses can be generated through dispersion management, even in a low $Q$-factor cavity.