Characterization of ultrashort pulse formation in passively mode-locked fiber lasers

Pulse formation in an all-solid-state passively mode-locked neodymium glass fiber laser is investigated by employing characterization techniques in the time, optical, and radio-frequency domains. The pulses are generated by a combination of passive amplitude modulation arising from nonlinear polarization evolution and passive frequency modulation due to quasi-soliton-like pulse shaping. Several distinct operation modes for ultrashort pulse generation are described and pulses as short as 38 fs are directly generated in the cavity.<
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