Observation of the extracavity propagation of amplified bound-state soliton pulses emitted from a SWNT mode-locked fiber laser

We have experimentally investigated the extracavity propagation of amplified bound-state soliton pulses from a passively single-wall carbon nanotube mode-locked fiber laser. Under proper configuration of pump power and state of polarization, bound-state pulses exhibit a modulated optical spectrum. Except for the two main center wavelengths of 1557.3 and 1560.5 nm, additional five sidelobes centered at 1548.9, 1552.8, 1565.5, 1569.0 and 1573.1 nm are observed. Besides, the propagation after the extracavity erbium-doped fiber amplification is also investigated. It is demonstrated the significant change of the pulse separation is experimentally obtained when adjusting the extracavity PC before the autocorrelator, which is attributed to the coherent nonlinear solitonsoliton interaction. In addition, when different lengths of single-mode fiber after extracavity amplifier is removed or added, the significant change of the pulse separation is also observed, which matches well with the simulated evolution of pulse separation with respect to the SMF length. The pulse separation change of amplified bound soliton pulses is experimentally and theoretically investigated. These results provide further physical understanding of the generation and extracavity propagation of bound-state soliton pulses.

Automated summary

This study experimentally investigates the extracavity propagation of amplified bound-state soliton pulses from a passively single-wall carbon nanotube mode-locked fiber laser. The results show that under proper configuration, the bound-state pulses exhibit a modulated optical spectrum with additional sidelobes. The study also examines the impact of extracavity erbium-doped fiber amplification and the change of pulse separation when adjusting the extracavity polarization controller.