GeTe based modulator for the generation of soliton, soliton molecule and bright-dark soliton pair

•GeTe can be utilized as a modulator for Er-doped fiber lasers.•Conventional soliton mode-locked operation is demonstrated in the GeTe based fiber laser with ultrashort pulse duration of 972 fs.•Soliton molecule and bright-dark soliton pair can be obtained by controlling the pump power and polarization controllers. We experimentally investigated GeTe as a modulator for generating conventional soliton, soliton molecule and bright-dark soliton pair in an Er-doped fiber laser (EDFL) for the first time. The GeTe exhibited typical saturable absorption properties with modulation depth and saturation intensity of about 9.5% and 8.2 MW/cm2. With the GeTe based saturable absorber, conventional soliton mode-locked EDFL was demonstrated with ultrashort pulse duration of 972 fs. Through controlling the pump power and polarization controller, the single soliton state can evolve into soliton molecule state. Furthermore, bright-dark soliton pair can also be obtained in this fiber laser at the appropriate pump power. This work demonstrated that the GeTe can be used as a potential candidate modulator for soliton fiber laser.