Solitary beam propagation in a nonlinear optical resonator enables high-efficiency pulse compression

We experimentally demonstrate that temporally confined spatial solitons can be realized by space-time coupled propagation of strong femtosecond pulses in a nonlinear optical resonator, consisting of periodic layered Kerr media (PLKM). A universal relationship between the characteristic beam size and the critical nonlinear phase of the solitary modes is revealed, defining different regions of soliton stability. Taking advantage of the unique characters of these solitary modes, we demonstrate supercontinuum generation and pulse compression of initially 260 μJ, 170 fs pulses down to 22 fs in a single-stage PLKM resonator with an efficiency >90%.