Dispersion management in a harmonically mode-locked fiber soliton laser

Harmonically mode-locked Er-fiber soliton lasers have become a reliable sou rce of high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses in high-speed communications and photonic analog-to-digital conversion systems because of their low-nois e, dropout-free operation. We have fabricated such a laser with a strongly dispersion-managed cavity and modeled its operation, and we have found that dispersion management significantly extends the power range over which uni nterrupted single-pulse production is attained and dramatically decreases t he effects of amplified spontaneous emission on the phase noise of the lase r. OCIS codes: 140.3510, 140.4050, 140.3430, 060.5530, 060.7140, 320.7090.