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

Abstract

We show results obtained from a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror mode-locked Ti:sapphire soliton laser that was operated in the multiple-pulse regime. Double, triple, and quadruple pulses were observed when the dispersion was decreased below a critical value. The pulse pairs and triplets were either widely separated or closely coupled, and spectra that resembled those of constant as well as rotating phase differences between pulses were observed. We explain our observations in the framework of the generalized complex Ginzburg–Landau equation as the master equation of the laser.