Phase-tailored assembly and encoding of dissipative soliton molecules

Pure-high-even-order dispersion bound solitons complexes in ultra-fast fiber lasers

Temporal solitons have been the focus of much research due to their fascinating physical properties. These solitons can form bound states, which are fundamentally crucial modes in fiber laser and present striking analogies with their matter molecules counterparts, which means they have potential applications in large-capacity transmission and all-optical information storage. Although traditionally, second-order dispersion has been the dominant dispersion for conventional solitons, recent experimental and theoretical research has shown that pure-high-even-order dispersion (PHEOD) solitons with energy-width scaling can arise from the interaction of arbitrary negative-even-order dispersion and Kerr nonlinearity. Despite these advancements, research on the bound states of PHEOD solitons is currently non-existent. In this study, we obtained PHEOD bound solitons in a fiber laser using an intra-cavity spectral pulse shaper for high-order dispersion management. Specifically, we experimentally demonstrate the existence of PHEOD solitons and PHEOD bound solitons with pure-quartic, -sextic, -octic, and -decic dispersion. Numerical simulations corroborate these experimental observations. Furthermore, vibrating phase PHEOD bound soliton pairs, sliding phase PHEOD bound soliton pairs, and hybrid phase PHEOD bound tri-soliton are discovered and characterized. These results broaden the fundamental understanding of solitons and show the universality of multi-soliton patterns.

Pulse pattern manipulation of dichromatic soliton complexes by a twistable tapered-fiber filter

Soliton complexes highlight the particle-like dynamics of dissipative pulses. However, simple and reliable manipulation of bound solitons remains challenging, particularly for all-polarization-maintaining (PM) configurations that are free from random polarization perturbations. Here, we report controllable pulse patterns of robustly coexisting dichromatic soliton complexes in an all-PM fiber laser based on a twistable tapered-fiber filter. According to the twist angle, dichromatic pulses are switched between different patterns, and components at each wavelength can be independently manipulated, extending encodings from the time to the frequency domain. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first experimental demonstration of dual-wavelength soliton complexes that different pulse patterns coexist at separated wavebands.

Controlling intracavity dual-comb soliton motion in a single-fiber laser

Ultrafast science builds on dynamic compositions of precisely timed light pulses, and evolving groups of pulses are observed in almost every mode-locked laser. However, the underlying physics has rarely been controlled or used until now. Here, we demonstrate a general approach to control soliton motion inside a dual-comb laser and the programmable synthesis of ultrashort pulse patterns. Introducing single-pulse modulation inside an Er:fiber laser, we rapidly shift the timing between two temporally separated soliton combs. Their superposition outside the cavity yields ultrashort soliton sequences. On the basis of real-time spectral interferometry, we observe the deterministic switching of intersoliton separation arising from the interplay of attracting and repulsing forces via ultrafast nonlinearity and laser gain dynamics. Harnessing these insights, we demonstrate the high-speed all-optical synthesis of nano- to picosecond pump-probe delays and programmable free-form soliton trajectories. This concept may pave the way to a new class of all-optical delay generators for ultrafast measurements at unprecedented high tuning, cycling, and acquisition speeds.