Real-time characterization of spectral instabilities in a mode-locked fibre laser exhibiting soliton-similariton dynamics

The study of dissipative solitons in mode-locked lasers reveals a rich landscape of interaction dynamics resulting from the interplay of nonlinearity, dispersion and dissipation. Here, we characterize a range of instabilities in a dissipative soliton fibre laser in a regime where both conventional soliton and similariton propagation play significant roles in the intracavity pulse shaping. Specifically, we use the Dispersive Fourier Transform technique to perform real-time spectral measurements of buildup dynamics from noise to the generation of stable single pulses, phase evolution dynamics of bound state ``similariton molecules'', and several examples of intermittent instability and explosion dynamics. These results show that the instabilities previously seen in other classes of passively mode-locked fibre lasers are also observed in the presence of strong nonlinear attraction of similariton evolution in an optical fibre amplifier.