Solitons in mode-locked lasers

Mode-locked lasers generate ultra-short optical pulses, with durations ranging from hundreds of picoseconds down to a few femtoseconds. Mode-locked lasers are essentially an optical oscillator and, as such, require the two basic constituents of any oscillator, namely amplification and loss. In the past solitons propagating in such lasers were described as solutions of the so-called "master-equation". This is a phenomenological model that can describe solitons in mode-locked lasers only under specific conditions and a narrow range of parameters. In this talk we will discuss a new equation that supports the mode-locking mechanism for both constant dispersion and dispersion managed solitons. In so doing, we will present a numerical technique, called spectral renormalization, that allows us to study both the dynamics of the equation and its solution.
 

You can see Theodoros Horikis' talk by clicking here.

For more information about Theodoros Horikis see his webpage.