“…Nonlinear effects are usually quite large in mode-locked fibre lasers, but the interplay among the effects of gain/loss, dispersion and nonlinearity can also be used to shape the pulses, manipulate and control the light dynamics and, hence, lead to different regimes of mode locking. Five distinct nonlinear regimes of pulse generation have been demonstrated in passively-mode-locked fibre lasers, including soliton [4] and stretched-pulse [5,6] regimes, self-similar pulse (similariton) propagation in passive [7] and active [8][9][10][11] fibres and all-normal or strong net-normal dispersion regimes [12][13][14][15][16]. These mode-locking dynamics have been observed at the emission wavelengths of both ytterbium and erbium, as well as in Raman fibre oscillators and, more recently, also in thulium-doped fibre lasers [17], so they are not specific to the particular gain medium.…”