386 Ultrashort Sources II: Examples
While soliton-like models have been used to describe a number of ultrafast
laser systems as discussed in Chapter 5, the nonlinear dynamics of soliton prop-
agation plays a more direct role in the erbium fiber laser than is seen in any
other. The generated pulses are typically transform limited with a sech
2
intensity
profile—the shape expected from the soliton solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger
equation. The average intracavity energy per pulse corresponds reasonably well
to the energy of a soliton of the same length propagating in fiber with dispersion
equal to the average cavity dispersion.
It has been demonstrated that the minimum pulse length obtainable in erbium
fiber lasers is approximately proportional to the ...