Reconfigurable dynamics of optical soliton molecular complexes in an ultrafast thulium fiber laser

Abstract Dissipative optical solitons of particle-like structures can form soliton molecules with striking molecule-like interactions. However, the experimental investigation of soliton molecules in ultrafast lasers is still largely confined to bound states of only two solitons and is far from being explored for soliton molecular complexes. Here, the reconfigurable switching of soliton molecular complexes originating from the binding of two soliton-pair molecules was demonstrated around 2 μm, simultaneously opening an emerging window in the longer wavelength. The periodic switching of soliton molecules with dual-stability can be resolved. Moreover, the single and multiple successively switching of soliton molecules can be triggered by the collision of drifting soliton or control over saturable absorption parameters. Further, the consecutive reversible switching with high fidelity is verified in soliton molecules with periodic pump modulation. These results unveil the dynamical soliton interaction and motivate potential applications in ultrafast spectroscopy, information encoding, and computations.