Writing and erasing of temporal cavity solitons by direct phase modulation of the cavity driving field

Temporal cavity solitons (CSs) are persisting pulses of light that can manifest themselves in continuously driven passive resonators, such as macroscopic fiber ring cavities and monolithic microresonators. Experiments so far have demonstrated two techniques for their excitation, yet both possess drawbacks in the form of system complexity or lack of control over soliton positioning. Here we experimentally demonstrate a new CS writing scheme that alleviates these deficiencies. Specifically, we show that temporal CSs can be excited at arbitrary positions through direct phase modulation of the cavity driving field, and that this technique also allows existing CSs to be selectively erased. Our results constitute the first experimental demonstration of temporal cavity soliton excitation via direct phase modulation, as well as their selective erasure (by any means). These advances reduce the complexity of CS excitation and could lead to controlled pulse generation in monolithic microresonators.