Generation of picosecond soliton pulses with tunable repetition rate by modulational instability

Picosecond soliton pulse train has been obtained from a passively mode locked erbium-doped ring fiber laser. The passive mode-locking mechanism that is at play in this laser relies on the modulational instability (MI) theory. By accurately adjusting the polarization setting of the circulating cavity light, the repetition rate can be tuned from 58 to 114GHz. Theoretical explanations has also been given.