Period-Timing Bifurcations in a Dispersion-Managed Fiber Laser With Zero Group Velocity Dispersion

We report on the numerical results of period timing bifurcations in a dispersion-managed (DM) fiber laser with zero group velocity dispersion (GVD).The fiber laser is passively mode-locked by using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. Period-tripling bifurcation route to chaos is numerically observed apart from the conventional period-doubling bifurcation route to chaos. The small signal gain is the only varying parameter, while all the other cavity parameters are fixed. Different from the conventional period-doubling bifurcation route to chaos where the route begins from order, the period-tripling bifurcation route to chaos is led by a direct route from period one to chaos and then to a period-tripling state. The appearance of nonlinear window of period-tripling suggests that the ultrashort pulses generated from the DM fiber laser with zero GVD have rich nonlinear dynamics.