Coexistence and competition: Double attractors in hybrid mode-locked fiber lasers

The hybrid mode-locking technique has been widely used in enhancing pulse quality, but the specific mechanism of hybrid mode-locking remains unclear. In this work, we experimentally investigate three pulse formation mechanisms in saturable absorbers (SA) and nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE) passively hybrid mode-locked fiber laser, which are SA domination, NPE domination, and SA-NPE co-domination switching and clarified the existent dynamic competition and cooperation between the two mode-locking mechanisms of the hybrid mode-locked fiber laser. The method of simulating the filtered gain spectrum with customized filtering is proposed, and the switching of pulse formation mechanisms is numerically investigated using the coupled Ginzburg–Landau equations. The presence of a double attractor subsystem in a hybrid mode-locked fiber laser is proposed and demonstrated. Our results deepen the understanding of hybrid mode-locked fiber lasers and provide experimental ideas for the study of multi-attractor coexistence.