Mode-locked 2.8-μm fluoride fiber laser: from soliton to breathing pulse

The mode-locked fluoride fiber laser (MLFFL) is an exciting platform for directly generating ultrashort pulses in the mid-infrared (mid-IR). However, owing to difficulty in managing the dispersion in fluoride fiber lasers, MLFFLs are restricted to the soliton regime, hindering pulse-energy scaling. We overcame the problem of dispersion management by utilizing the huge normal dispersion generated near the absorption edge of an infrared-bandgap semiconductor and promoted MLFFL from soliton to breathing-pulse mode-locking. In the breathing-pulse regime, the accumulated nonlinear phase shift can be significantly reduced in the cavity, and the pulse-energy-limitation effect is mitigated. The breathing-pulse MLFFL directly produced a pulse energy of 9.3 nJ and pulse duration of 215 fs, with a record peak power of 43.3 kW at 2.8 μm. Our work paves the way for the pulse-energy and peak-power scaling of mid-IR fluoride fiber lasers, enabling a wide range of applications.