The soliton laser

By incorporating a length of single-mode, polarization-preserving fiber into the feedback loop of a mode-locked color-center laser (lambda~1.4-1.6 microm), we have created a device that we call the soliton laser. Pulse width (2.0 to 0.21psec obtained to date) is determined by fiber length, in accordance with N = 2 soliton behavior. Production of <50-fsec-wide pulses is indicated for compression in an additional, external fiber.