MULTIPULSE OPERATION REGIME IN A SELF-MODE-LOCKED CR4+FORSTERITE FEMTOSECOND LASER

We report the observation of pulse splitting generated from a self-mod e-locked Cr4+:forsterite laser operating near zero group-velocity disp ersion. This new behavior of a femtosecond Cr4+:forsterite laser could be due to a combination of self-phase modulation, group-velocity disp ersion and higher-order phase dispersion inside the laser cavity. The experimental study shows that large third- and fourth-order dispersion inside the cavity leads to the splitting of the solitary pulse into t wo or three identical pulses, and the results fit reasonably well with those of theoretical calculations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.