Dissipative Faraday instability mode-locking in a Raman fiber laser

There is a new type of parametric instability that was recently theoretically predicted - dissipative Faraday instability. In this work we experimentally demonstrate this new type of instability by successfully achieving mode-locking in a simple configuration. Applying a combination of passive spatial modulation of spectrally dependent loss and group velocity dispersion, we achieve high harmonic mode-locking in a Raman fiber laser. The results not only open the possibilities for novel designs of mode-locked lasers, but extend beyond the field of laser physics.