Multipulse operation of a Ti : sapphire laser mode locked by an ion-implanted semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror

We show results obtained from a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror mod e-locked Ti:sapphire soliton laser that was operated in the multiple-pulse regime. Double, triple, and quadruple pulses were observed when the dispers ion was decreased below a critical value. The pulse pairs and triplets were either widely separated or closely coupled, and spectra that resembled tho se of constant as well as rotating phase differences between pulses were ob served. We explain our observations in the framework of the generalized com plex Ginzburg-Landau equation as the master equation of the laser. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America [SO740-3224(99)00606-2] OCIS codes: 140.7090, 1 40.4050, 140.3590.