Switchable generation of a sub-200 fs dissipative soliton and a noise-like pulse in a normal-dispersion Tm-doped mode-locked fiber laser

We report on the switchable generation of a dissipative soliton (DS) pulse and a noise-like pulse (NLP) in an all-fiberized Tm-doped fiber laser in the normal-dispersion region. Mode-locking operation is achieved through a nonlinear polarization rotation component, and the cavity dispersion is compensated using ultra-high numerical aperture (UHNA4) fiber that is easy to integrate and low in cost. At a pump threshold of 510 mW, DS operation can first be achieved without additional filter. The 3 dB spectrum bandwidth of the DS pulse is greater than 50 nm, and the duration of the de-chirped pulse is 193 fs. By increasing the pump power to 880 mW, the mode-locking state can evolve into NLP operation with proper cavity polarization state. The 3 dB spectrum bandwidth and duration of de-chirped coherence spike are 105.6 nm and 121 fs, respectively. Meanwhile, ultra-broadband NLP (over 150 nm considering 3 dB spectrum width) can also be observed with the appropriate cavity parameters. All the proposed pulse patterns present good capacity for achieving narrow pulse width and withstanding high pulse energy.