TRANSIENT DYNAMICS IN A SELF-STARTING PASSIVELY MODE-LOCKED FIBER-BASED SOLITON LASER

We describe measurements of spectrally resolved turn-on and turn-off d ynamics in a self-starting passively mode-locked fiber soliton laser. An intracavity quantum well optical amplifier whose bias is modulated changes the cavity losses, thereby switching the laser between continu ous wave and mode-locked states. We show that during the transients, t he laser undergoes a period of self Q switching lasting a few hundreds of microseconds (as determined by the relaxation oscillation frequenc y in the fiber gain medium) before it reaches steady state.