Multi-Shuttle Behavior Between Dissipative Solitons and Noise-Like Pulses in an All-Fiber Laser

A multi-switchable generation between dissipative solitons (DSs) and noise-like pulses (NLPs) in a fiber laser is demonstrated. A 45° tilted fiber grating is applied as an effective in-line all-fiber polarizer to realize the nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) mechanism. With the fixed orientations of polarization controllers, the operation regimes of the fiber laser can be alternatively switched between DS and NLP by monotonically increasing pump power only. We observed five switching stages between DS/NLP regimes with the pump power elevating from 200 to 660 mW. Remarkably, the whole procedure could be precisely controlled forwardly and backwardly. This multi-shuttle behavior between the two distinct types of output pulse can be attributed to the transmission of NPR mechanism together with the gain filtering effect. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the multi-shuttle behavior between DS and NLP in a fiber laser under monotonic change of pump power. Our findings may contribute to in-depth understanding of nonlinear dynamics and laser physics.