Fig. 1. Evolution of pulse duration versus the net cavity dispersion. Numerical simulation is conducted with the following key parameters: fiber length of 3.07 m, fiber dispersion β_fiber of –0.09 ps²/m, fiber nonlinear coefficient γ_fiber of 1.72×10^–4 (W⋅m)^–1 and Ge dispersion β_Ge of +1.68 ps²/m^[16,20–23]. The experimental data are obtained based on the experimental setup depicted in Figure 4.

Fig. 2. Simulation results of dispersion-managed mode-locked pulses at the net cavity dispersion of +0.06 ps². Evolution of pulse duration: (a) the stretched pulse and (b) the dissipative soliton. Evolution of the spectral profile and output spectrum: (c) the stretched pulse and (d) the dissipative soliton.

Fig. 3. Output pulse profiles and chirps of (a) the modeled stretched pulse and (b) the modeled dissipative soliton at the net cavity dispersion of +0.06 ps².

Fig. 4. Schematic of a dispersion-managed mode-locked Er:ZBLAN fiber laser. λ/4, quarter-wave plate; λ/2, half-wave plate; ISO, polarization-dependent isolator; DM_1,2, dichroic mirrors; L_1,2, aspheric lenses.

Fig. 5. Experimental results of dispersion-managed mode-locked Er:ZBLAN fiber laser at the net cavity dispersion of +0.06 ps². (a) Autocorrelation trace and (b) spectrum of the stretched pulse. (c) Autocorrelation trace and (d) spectrum of the dissipative soliton.

Fig. 6. Experimental results of stretched-pulse mode-locked Er:ZBLAN fiber laser at the net cavity dispersion of +0.08 ps². (a) Dependence of pulse duration and energy on the pump power, (b) autocorrelation trace (inset: autocorrelation trace within the 30 ps window), and (c) optical spectrum.