Generation of the switchable dual-state solitons and the octave-spanning supercontinuum in a single-mode Er-doped fibre laser system

We experimentally demonstrate the generation of the switchable dual-state solitons in a compact ultrashort pulse Er-doped fibre laser. The octave-spanning supercontinuum is obtained in an Er-doped fibre amplifier seeded by the self-similar soliton. The mode-locked oscillator produces 205.5 fs dispersion-managed soliton at 1556.6 nm and 115.6 fs self-similar soliton at 1558 nm. The switchable generation of dual-state solitons is only needed to adjust the pump power and the polarization state. The amplifier generates a 147.2 fs ultrashort pulse with a spectral bandwidth of more than 650 nm after compressing the pulse duration. The maximum output power of the laser system is 195 mW. Our experimental results provide a possibility of achieving supercontinuum gen-eration based on the switchable dual-state solitons ultrashort pulse in a standard single-mode fibre-format en-ergetic ultrashort laser system.

Automated summary

We demonstrate the generation of switchable dual-state solitons in a compact ultrashort pulse Er-doped fibre laser through experiments. An octave-spanning supercontinuum is obtained using an Er-doped fibre amplifier seeded by the self-similar soliton. By adjusting the pump power and polarization state, the generation of dual-state solitons can be switched. The amplifier compresses the pulse duration and produces a 147.2 fs ultrashort pulse with a spectral bandwidth of over 650 nm. The maximum output power of the laser system is 195 mW. Our experimental results open up the possibility of achieving supercontinuum generation based on switchable dual-state solitons in a standard single-mode fibre-format energetic ultrashort laser system.