Generation of Q-switched mode locking controlled rectangular noise-like soliton bunching in a Tm-doped fiber laser

We report on an interesting phenomenon of the combination of Q-switched mode locked pulses (QSMLP) and rectangular noise-like pulses (RNLP) as a unit in a Tm-doped ring fiber laser which contains a Fabry-Perot (F-P) subcavity based on the nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE) technique. The RNLP and QSMLP are independently generated in the ring cavity and F-P subcavity, respectively. A notable characteristic is that the physical parameters of RNLP, e.g. repetition rate and pulse duration, are controlled by QSMLP. Thus, they form as a composite bunching, which is termed as "Q-switched mode locking controlled rectangular noise-like soliton bunching (QRNSB)". Further investigation shows that the existence of QRNSB only occurs in high pumping conditions, while both fundamental mode-locking pulses and the coexistence of QSMLP and solitons are achieved in low pumping ones. Our work can enrich the understanding of the nonlinear dynamics in fiber lasers. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America