Mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser with soliton pulse shaping

Abstract

We have generated pulses as short as 4 psec at 1530 nm from a mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser. The mode locker is a wide-bandwidth, lithium niobate guided-wave modulator, and the fiber laser is completely integrated. We present evidence that soliton pulse shaping is playing a key role in the formation of the pulses.