DISSIPATIVE SOLITON OPERATION OF AN Yb3+:Sc2SiO5 LASER IN THE VICINITY OF ZERO GROUP VELOCITY DISPERSION

Abstract

The authors report on the dissipative soliton operation of a diode pumped Yb3+:Sc2SiO5 (Yb:SSO) laser in the vicinity of the zero group velocity dispersion (GVD). It is found that the soliton shaping in the laser is dominated by the third-order dispersion (TOD) of the cavity as reflected by the appearance of an asymmetrical spectral sideband in the soliton spectrum. Soliton pulses as short as 93 fs have been obtained in the laser. The authors show that the shortest soliton pulse achievable in the laser is limited by the cavity induced soliton instability, rather than the Kelly spectral sideband formation.