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Nie M, Musgrave J, Jia K, Bartos J, Zhu S, Xie Z, Huang SW. Turnkey photonic flywheel in a microresonator-filtered laser. Nat Commun 2024; 15:55. [PMID: 38168081 PMCID: PMC10761980 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44314-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) microcomb has emerged as an enabling technology that revolutionizes a wide range of applications in both basic science and technological innovation. Reliable turnkey operation with sub-optical-cycle and sub-femtosecond timing jitter is key to the success of many intriguing microcomb applications at the intersection of ultrafast optics and microwave electronics. Here we propose an approach and demonstrate the first turnkey Brillouin-DKS frequency comb to the best of our knowledge. Our microresonator-filtered laser design offers essential benefits, including phase insensitivity, self-healing capability, deterministic selection of the DKS state, and access to the ultralow noise comb state. The demonstrated turnkey Brillouin-DKS frequency comb achieves a fundamental comb linewidth of 100 mHz and DKS timing jitter of 1 femtosecond for averaging times up to 56 μs. The approach is universal and generalizable to various device platforms for user-friendly and field-deployable comb devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingming Nie
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.
| | - Jonathan Musgrave
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Kunpeng Jia
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, 210093, Nanjing, China.
| | - Jan Bartos
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Shining Zhu
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, 210093, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhenda Xie
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, 210093, Nanjing, China.
| | - Shu-Wei Huang
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.
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2
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Nie M, Jia K, Bartos J, Zhu S, Xie Z, Huang SW. Turnkey photonic flywheel in a Chimera cavity. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2423298. [PMID: 36798249 PMCID: PMC9934760 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2423298/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) microcomb has emerged as an enabling technology that revolutionizes a wide range of applications in both basic science and technological innovation. Reliable turnkey operation with sub-optical-cycle and sub-femtosecond timing jitter is key to the success of many intriguing microcomb applications at the intersection of ultrafast optics and microwave electronics. Here we propose a novel approach to demonstrate the first turnkey Brillouin-DKS frequency comb. Our approach with a Chimera cavity offers essential benefits that are not attainable previously, including phase insensitivity, self-healing capability, deterministic selection of DKS state, and access to the ultralow noise comb state. The demonstrated turnkey Brillouin-DKS frequency comb achieves a fundamental comb linewidth of 100 mHz and DKS timing jitter of 1 femtosecond for averaging times up to 56 μs. The approach is universal and generalizable to various device platforms for user-friendly and field-deployable comb devices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Shining Zhu
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and School of Physics, Nanjing University
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3
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Synthesized spatiotemporal mode-locking and photonic flywheel in multimode mesoresonators. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6395. [PMID: 36302919 PMCID: PMC9613675 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34103-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) frequency combs—also known as microcombs—have arguably created a new field in cavity nonlinear photonics, with a strong cross-fertilization between theoretical, experimental, and technological research. Spatiotemporal mode-locking (STML) not only adds new degrees of freedom to ultrafast laser technology, but also provides new insights for implementing analogue computers and heuristic optimizers with photonics. Here, we combine the principles of DKS and STML to demonstrate the STML DKS by developing an unexplored ultrahigh-quality-factor Fabry–Pérot (FP) mesoresonator based on graded index multimode fiber (GRIN-MMF). Complementing the two-step pumping scheme with a cavity stress tuning method, we can selectively excite either the eigenmode DKS or the STML DKS. Furthermore, we demonstrate an ultralow noise microcomb that enhances the photonic flywheel performance in both the fundamental comb linewidth and DKS timing jitter. The demonstrated fundamental comb linewidth of 400 mHz and DKS timing jitter of 500 attosecond (averaging times up to 25 μs) represent improvements of 25× and 2.5×, respectively, from the state-of-the-art. Our results show the potential of GRIN-MMF FP mesoresonators as an ideal testbed for high-dimensional nonlinear cavity dynamics and photonic flywheel with ultrahigh coherence and ultralow timing jitter. Here the authors demonstrate spatiotemporal mode-locked dissipative Kerr soliton and enhanced photonic flywheel performances in both the fundamental comb linewidth and DKS timing jitter.
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Jia K, Wang X, Kwon D, Wang J, Tsao E, Liu H, Ni X, Guo J, Yang M, Jiang X, Kim J, Zhu SN, Xie Z, Huang SW. Photonic Flywheel in a Monolithic Fiber Resonator. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:143902. [PMID: 33064523 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.143902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate the first compact photonic flywheel with sub-fs time jitter (averaging times up to 10 μs) at the quantum-noise limit of a monolithic fiber resonator. Such quantum-limited performance is accessed through novel two-step pumping scheme for dissipative Kerr soliton generation. Controllable interaction between stimulated Brillouin lasing and Kerr nonlinearity enhances the DKS coherence and mitigates the thermal instability challenge, achieving a remarkable 22-Hz intrinsic comb linewidth and an unprecedented phase noise of -180 dBc/Hz at 945-MHz carrier at free running. The scheme can be generalized to various device platforms for field-deployable precision metrology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunpeng Jia
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Xiaohan Wang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Dohyeon Kwon
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiarong Wang
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Eugene Tsao
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Huaying Liu
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Xin Ni
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Jian Guo
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Mufan Yang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Xiaoshun Jiang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Jungwon Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Shi-Ning Zhu
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Zhenda Xie
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Shu-Wei Huang
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
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5
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Li Y, Huang SW, Li B, Liu H, Yang J, Vinod AK, Wang K, Yu M, Kwong DL, Wang HT, Wong KKY, Wong CW. Real-time transition dynamics and stability of chip-scale dispersion-managed frequency microcombs. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2020; 9:52. [PMID: 32284854 PMCID: PMC7118405 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-020-0290-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Femtosecond mode-locked laser frequency combs have served as the cornerstone in precision spectroscopy, all-optical atomic clocks, and measurements of ultrafast dynamics. Recently frequency microcombs based on nonlinear microresonators have been examined, exhibiting remarkable precision approaching that of laser frequency combs, on a solid-state chip-scale platform and from a fundamentally different physical origin. Despite recent successes, to date, the real-time dynamical origins and high-power stabilities of such frequency microcombs have not been fully addressed. Here, we unravel the transitional dynamics of frequency microcombs from chaotic background routes to femtosecond mode-locking in real time, enabled by our ultrafast temporal magnifier metrology and improved stability of dispersion-managed dissipative solitons. Through our dispersion-managed oscillator, we further report a stability zone that is more than an order-of-magnitude larger than its prior static homogeneous counterparts, providing a novel platform for understanding ultrafast dissipative dynamics and offering a new path towards high-power frequency microcombs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongnan Li
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
- School of Physics and The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Shu-Wei Huang
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Bowen Li
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hao Liu
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Jinghui Yang
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Abhinav Kumar Vinod
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Ke Wang
- School of Physics and The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Mingbin Yu
- Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, 117865 Singapore
| | - Dim-Lee Kwong
- Institute of Microelectronics, A*STAR, Singapore, 117865 Singapore
| | - Hui-Tian Wang
- School of Physics and The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Kenneth Kin-Yip Wong
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chee Wei Wong
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
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6
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Lim J, Liang W, Savchenkov AA, Matsko AB, Maleki L, Wong CW. Probing 10 μK stability and residual drifts in the cross-polarized dual-mode stabilization of single-crystal ultrahigh- Q optical resonators. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2019; 8:1. [PMID: 30622704 PMCID: PMC6318213 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-018-0109-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2018] [Revised: 10/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The thermal stability of monolithic optical microresonators is essential for many mesoscopic photonic applications such as ultrastable laser oscillators, photonic microwave clocks, and precision navigation and sensing. Their fundamental performance is largely bounded by thermal instability. Sensitive thermal monitoring can be achieved by utilizing cross-polarized dual-mode beat frequency metrology, determined by the polarization-dependent thermorefractivity of a single-crystal microresonator, wherein the heterodyne radio-frequency beat pins down the optical mode volume temperature for precision stabilization. Here, we investigate the correlation between the dual-mode beat frequency and the resonator temperature with time and the associated spectral noise of the dual-mode beat frequency in a single-crystal ultrahigh-Q MgF2 resonator to illustrate that dual-mode frequency metrology can potentially be utilized for resonator temperature stabilization reaching the fundamental thermal noise limit in a realistic system. We show a resonator long-term temperature stability of 8.53 μK after stabilization and unveil various sources that hinder the stability from reaching sub-μK in the current system, an important step towards compact precision navigation, sensing, and frequency reference architectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinkang Lim
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Wei Liang
- OEwaves Inc., 465 North Halstead Street, Suite 140, Pasadena, CA 91107 USA
| | | | - Andrey B. Matsko
- OEwaves Inc., 465 North Halstead Street, Suite 140, Pasadena, CA 91107 USA
| | - Lute Maleki
- OEwaves Inc., 465 North Halstead Street, Suite 140, Pasadena, CA 91107 USA
| | - Chee Wei Wong
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
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7
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Diallo S, Chembo YK. Optimization of primary Kerr optical frequency combs for tunable microwave generation. OPTICS LETTERS 2017; 42:3522-3525. [PMID: 28914891 DOI: 10.1364/ol.42.003522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We analyze the condition under which Kerr combs generate the highest microwave output power after photodetection. These optimal comb states correspond to configurations in which the sidemode-to-pump ratio is the highest possible. For the case of primary combs, we show how the interplay between the power and frequency of the pump laser critically influences this ratio, which has a direct influence on the phase noise performance of the generated microwaves. We also experimentally demonstrate primary combs with a sidemode-to-pump ratio as high as -2 dB, thereby leading to efficient energy conversion from the lightwave to the microwave frequency range.
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8
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Li B, Huang SW, Li Y, Wong CW, Wong KKY. Panoramic-reconstruction temporal imaging for seamless measurements of slowly-evolved femtosecond pulse dynamics. Nat Commun 2017; 8:61. [PMID: 28680055 PMCID: PMC5498544 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00093-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-shot real-time characterization of optical waveforms with sub-picosecond resolution is essential for investigating various ultrafast optical dynamics. However, the finite temporal recording length of current techniques hinders comprehensive understanding of many intriguing ultrafast optical phenomena that evolve over a timescale much longer than their fine temporal details. Inspired by the space-time duality and by stitching of multiple microscopic images to achieve a larger field of view in the spatial domain, here a panoramic-reconstruction temporal imaging (PARTI) system is devised to scale up the temporal recording length without sacrificing the resolution. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, the PARTI system is applied to study the dynamic waveforms of slowly evolved dissipative Kerr solitons in an ultrahigh-Q microresonator. Two 1.5-ns-long comprehensive evolution portraits are reconstructed with 740 fs resolution and dissipative Kerr soliton transition dynamics, in which a multiplet soliton state evolves into a stable singlet soliton state, are depicted.Real-time characterization of ultrafast dynamics comes with a tradeoff between temporal resolution and recording length. Here, Li et al. use a temporal reconstruction technique inspired by panoramic microscopy to image the dynamics of slowly evolved dissipative Kerr solitons in a microresonator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bowen Li
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong,, 999077, China
| | - Shu-Wei Huang
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Yongnan Li
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- School of Physics and The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak Light Nonlinear Photonics, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Chee Wei Wong
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Kenneth K Y Wong
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong,, 999077, China.
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Huang SW, Vinod AK, Yang J, Yu M, Kwong DL, Wong CW. Quasi-phase-matched multispectral Kerr frequency comb. OPTICS LETTERS 2017; 42:2110-2113. [PMID: 28569858 DOI: 10.1364/ol.42.002110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We study a new type of Kerr frequency comb where the momentum conservation law is fulfilled by azimuthal modulation of the waveguide dispersion. The concept can expand the parametric range in which a Kerr frequency comb is obtained. In a good agreement with the theoretical analysis, we demonstrate a multispectral Kerr frequency comb covering important fiber-optic communication bands. Comb coherence and absence of a sub-comb offset are confirmed by continuous-wave heterodyne beat note and amplitude noise spectra measurements. The device can be used for achieving broadband optical frequency synthesizers and high-capacity coherent communication.
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10
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Bao C, Xuan Y, Wang C, Jaramillo-Villegas JA, Leaird DE, Qi M, Weiner AM. Soliton repetition rate in a silicon-nitride microresonator. OPTICS LETTERS 2017; 42:759-762. [PMID: 28198856 DOI: 10.1364/ol.42.000759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The repetition rate of a Kerr comb composed of a single soliton in an anomalous group velocity dispersion silicon-nitride microcavity is measured as a function of pump frequency. By comparing operation in the soliton and non-soliton states, the contributions from the Raman soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) and the thermal effects are evaluated; the SSFS is found to dominate the changes in the repetition rate, similar to silica cavities. The relationship between the changes in the repetition rate and the pump frequency detuning is found to be independent of the nonlinearity coefficient and dispersion of the cavity. Modeling of the repetition rate change by using the generalized Lugiato-Lefever equation is discussed; the Kerr shock is found to have only a minor effect on repetition rate for cavity solitons with duration down to ∼50 fs.
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Kwon D, Jeon CG, Shin J, Heo MS, Park SE, Song Y, Kim J. Reference-free, high-resolution measurement method of timing jitter spectra of optical frequency combs. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40917. [PMID: 28102352 PMCID: PMC5244383 DOI: 10.1038/srep40917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Timing jitter is one of the most important properties of femtosecond mode-locked lasers and optical frequency combs. Accurate measurement of timing jitter power spectral density (PSD) is a critical prerequisite for optimizing overall noise performance and further advancing comb applications both in the time and frequency domains. Commonly used jitter measurement methods require a reference mode-locked laser with timing jitter similar to or lower than that of the laser-under-test, which is a demanding requirement for many laser laboratories, and/or have limited measurement resolution. Here we show a high-resolution and reference-source-free measurement method of timing jitter spectra of optical frequency combs using an optical fibre delay line and optical carrier interference. The demonstrated method works well for both mode-locked oscillators and supercontinua, with 2 × 10-9 fs2/Hz (equivalent to -174 dBc/Hz at 10-GHz carrier frequency) measurement noise floor. The demonstrated method can serve as a simple and powerful characterization tool for timing jitter PSDs of various comb sources including mode-locked oscillators, supercontinua and recently emerging Kerr-frequency combs; the jitter measurement results enabled by our method will provide new insights for understanding and optimizing timing noise in such comb sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dohyeon Kwon
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Chan-Gi Jeon
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Junho Shin
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Myoung-Sun Heo
- Center for Time and Frequency, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Sang Eon Park
- Center for Time and Frequency, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), Daejeon 34113, Korea
- Science of Measurements Program, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34114, Korea
| | - Youjian Song
- School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Jungwon Kim
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
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12
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Pushing the limits of CMOS optical parametric amplifiers with USRN:Si 7N 3 above the two-photon absorption edge. Nat Commun 2017; 8:13878. [PMID: 28051064 PMCID: PMC5216112 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
CMOS platforms operating at the telecommunications wavelength either reside within the highly dissipative two-photon regime in silicon-based optical devices, or possess small nonlinearities. Bandgap engineering of non-stoichiometric silicon nitride using state-of-the-art fabrication techniques has led to our development of USRN (ultra-silicon-rich nitride) in the form of Si7N3, that possesses a high Kerr nonlinearity (2.8 × 10−13 cm2 W−1), an order of magnitude larger than that in stoichiometric silicon nitride. Here we experimentally demonstrate high-gain optical parametric amplification using USRN, which is compositionally tailored such that the 1,550 nm wavelength resides above the two-photon absorption edge, while still possessing large nonlinearities. Optical parametric gain of 42.5 dB, as well as cascaded four-wave mixing with gain down to the third idler is observed and attributed to the high photon efficiency achieved through operating above the two-photon absorption edge, representing one of the largest optical parametric gains to date on a CMOS platform. Typical CMOS materials in the telecommunications band suffer from two-photon absorption or possess weak Kerr nonlinearities. Here, Ooi et al. demonstrate 42.5 dB optical parametric amplification in ultra-silicon-rich nitride waveguides, designed to have strong nonlinearities with negligible losses.
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13
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Jang JK, Okawachi Y, Yu M, Luke K, Ji X, Lipson M, Gaeta AL. Dynamics of mode-coupling-induced microresonator frequency combs in normal dispersion. OPTICS EXPRESS 2016; 24:28794-28803. [PMID: 27958523 DOI: 10.1364/oe.24.028794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We experimentally and theoretically investigate the dynamics of microresonator-based frequency comb generation assisted by mode coupling in the normal group-velocity dispersion (GVD) regime. We show that mode coupling can initiate intracavity modulation instability (MI) by directly perturbing the pump-resonance mode. We also observe the formation of a low-noise comb as the pump frequency is tuned further into resonance from the MI point. We determine the phase-matching conditions that accurately predict all the essential features of the MI and comb spectra, and extend the existing analogy between mode coupling and high-order dispersion to the normal GVD regime. We discuss the applicability of our analysis to the possibility of broadband comb generation in the normal GVD regime.
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14
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Lim J, Huang SW, Vinod AK, Mortazavian P, Yu M, Kwong DL, Savchenkov AA, Matsko AB, Maleki L, Wong CW. Stabilized chip-scale Kerr frequency comb via a high-Q reference photonic microresonator. OPTICS LETTERS 2016; 41:3706-9. [PMID: 27519068 DOI: 10.1364/ol.41.003706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
We stabilize a chip-scale Si3N4 phase-locked Kerr frequency comb via locking the pump laser to an independent stable high-Q reference microresonator and locking the comb spacing to an external microwave oscillator. In this comb, the pump laser shift induces negligible impact on the comb spacing change. This scheme is a step toward miniaturization of the stabilized Kerr comb system as the microresonator reference can potentially be integrated on-chip. Fractional instability of the optical harmonics of the stabilized comb is limited by the microwave oscillator used for a comb spacing lock below 1 s averaging time and coincides with the pump laser drift in the long term.
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15
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Matsko AB, Liang W, Savchenkov AA, Eliyahu D, Maleki L. Optical Cherenkov radiation in overmoded microresonators. OPTICS LETTERS 2016; 41:2907-2910. [PMID: 27367062 DOI: 10.1364/ol.41.002907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We show that an optical analog of Cherenkov radiation (dispersive wave) is observable in a nonlinear microring resonator generating Kerr frequency comb and containing linearly interacting families of equidistant modes. The radiation results from disruptions in the frequency dependent group velocity dispersion of the pumped cavity modes and is emitted into different mode families of the resonator. This effect reveals itself as a dispersive shaped structure in the spectral envelope of the frequency comb. We found that the dips in the comb spectrum correspond to peaks of the emission of the power in the other mode families of the resonator. The spectrum of the combs that includes both mode families does not have any dips, but peaks and resembles the Cherenkov radiation spectra frequently observed in Kerr comb systems. This Letter shows that a correct description of the Kerr comb in presence of mode anti-crossings should take into account not only the pumped mode family with modified dispersion parameter, but also the modes of the interacting families.
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Wang W, Chu ST, Little BE, Pasquazi A, Wang Y, Wang L, Zhang W, Wang L, Hu X, Wang G, Hu H, Su Y, Li F, Liu Y, Zhao W. Dual-pump Kerr Micro-cavity Optical Frequency Comb with varying FSR spacing. Sci Rep 2016; 6:28501. [PMID: 27338250 PMCID: PMC4919787 DOI: 10.1038/srep28501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we demonstrate a novel dual-pump approach to generate robust optical frequency comb with varying free spectral range (FSR) spacing in a CMOS-compatible high-Q micro-ring resonator (MRR). The frequency spacing of the comb can be tuned by an integer number FSR of the MRR freely in our dual-pump scheme. The dual pumps are self-oscillated in the laser cavity loop and their wavelengths can be tuned flexibly by programming the tunable filter embedded in the cavity. By tuning the pump wavelength, broadband OFC with the bandwidth of >180 nm and the frequency-spacing varying from 6 to 46-fold FSRs is realized at a low pump power. This approach could find potential and practical applications in many areas, such as optical metrology, optical communication, and signal processing systems, for its excellent flexibility and robustness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiqiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.,China-UK Joint Research Center on Micro/Nano photonics, XIOPM of CAS, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Sai T Chu
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Brent E Little
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Alessia Pasquazi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - Yishan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Leiran Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,China-UK Joint Research Center on Micro/Nano photonics, XIOPM of CAS, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Wenfu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,China-UK Joint Research Center on Micro/Nano photonics, XIOPM of CAS, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Lei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,China-UK Joint Research Center on Micro/Nano photonics, XIOPM of CAS, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Xiaohong Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Guoxi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,China-UK Joint Research Center on Micro/Nano photonics, XIOPM of CAS, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Hui Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yulong Su
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Feitao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuanshan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi'an 710119, China
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17
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Joshi C, Jang JK, Luke K, Ji X, Miller SA, Klenner A, Okawachi Y, Lipson M, Gaeta AL. Thermally controlled comb generation and soliton modelocking in microresonators. OPTICS LETTERS 2016; 41:2565-8. [PMID: 27244415 DOI: 10.1364/ol.41.002565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of thermally controlled soliton mode-locked frequency comb generation in microresonators. By controlling the electric current through heaters integrated with silicon nitride microresonators, we demonstrate a systematic and repeatable pathway to single- and multi-soliton mode-locked states without adjusting the pump laser wavelength. Such an approach could greatly simplify the generation of mode-locked frequency combs and facilitate applications such as chip-based dual-comb spectroscopy.
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18
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Smooth and flat phase-locked Kerr frequency comb generation by higher order mode suppression. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26255. [PMID: 27181420 PMCID: PMC4867630 DOI: 10.1038/srep26255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
High-Q microresonator is perceived as a promising platform for optical frequency comb generation, via dissipative soliton formation. In order to achieve a higher quality factor and obtain the necessary anomalous dispersion, multi-mode waveguides were previously implemented in Si3N4 microresonators. However, coupling between different transverse mode families in multi-mode waveguides results in periodic disruption of dispersion and quality factor, and consequently causes perturbation to dissipative soliton formation and amplitude modulation to the corresponding spectrum. Careful choice of pump wavelength to avoid the mode crossing region is thus critical in conventional Si3N4 microresonators. Here, we report a novel design of Si3N4 microresonator in which single-mode operation, high quality factor, and anomalous dispersion are attained simultaneously. The novel microresonator is consisted of uniform single-mode waveguides in the semi-circle region, to eliminate bending induced mode coupling, and adiabatically tapered waveguides in the straight region, to avoid excitation of higher order modes. The intrinsic quality factor of the microresonator reaches 1.36 × 106 while the group velocity dispersion remains to be anomalous at −50 fs2/mm. With this novel microresonator, we demonstrate that broadband phase-locked Kerr frequency combs with flat and smooth spectra can be generated by pumping at any resonances in the optical C-band.
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19
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Li X, Wu K, Sun Z, Meng B, Wang Y, Wang Y, Yu X, Yu X, Zhang Y, Shum PP, Wang QJ. Single-wall carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide-based saturable absorbers for low phase noise mode-locked fiber lasers. Sci Rep 2016; 6:25266. [PMID: 27126900 PMCID: PMC4850480 DOI: 10.1038/srep25266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Low phase noise mode-locked fiber laser finds important applications in telecommunication, ultrafast sciences, material science, and biology, etc. In this paper, two types of carbon nano-materials, i.e. single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) and graphene oxide (GO), are investigated as efficient saturable absorbers (SAs) to achieve low phase noise mode-locked fiber lasers. Various properties of these wall-paper SAs, such as saturable intensity, optical absorption and degree of purity, are found to be key factors determining the performance of the ultrafast pulses. Reduced-noise femtosecond fiber lasers based on such carbon-based SAs are experimentally demonstrated, for which the phase noise has been reduced by more than 10 dB for SWNT SAs and 8 dB for GO SAs at 10 kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation on the relationship between different carbon material based SAs and the phase noise of mode-locked lasers. This work paves the way to generate high-quality low phase noise ultrashort pulses in passively mode-locked fiber lasers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Li
- School of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, P.R. China.,Centre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave., 639798, Singapore
| | - Kan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, Department of Electronic Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Zhipei Sun
- Department of Micro- and Nanosciences, Aalto University, PO Box 13500, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - Bo Meng
- Centre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave., 639798, Singapore
| | - Yonggang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Yishan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Xuechao Yu
- Centre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave., 639798, Singapore
| | - Xia Yu
- Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 71 Nanyang Drive, 638075 Singapore
| | - Ying Zhang
- Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 71 Nanyang Drive, 638075 Singapore
| | - Perry Ping Shum
- School of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, P.R. China
| | - Qi Jie Wang
- Centre for Optoelectronics and Biophotonics, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave., 639798, Singapore
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20
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Huang SW, Yang J, Yu M, McGuyer BH, Kwong DL, Zelevinsky T, Wong CW. A broadband chip-scale optical frequency synthesizer at 2.7 × 10(-16) relative uncertainty. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2016; 2:e1501489. [PMID: 27152341 PMCID: PMC4846450 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Optical frequency combs-coherent light sources that connect optical frequencies with microwave oscillations-have become the enabling tool for precision spectroscopy, optical clockwork, and attosecond physics over the past decades. Current benchmark systems are self-referenced femtosecond mode-locked lasers, but Kerr nonlinear dynamics in high-Q solid-state microresonators has recently demonstrated promising features as alternative platforms. The advance not only fosters studies of chip-scale frequency metrology but also extends the realm of optical frequency combs. We report the full stabilization of chip-scale optical frequency combs. The microcomb's two degrees of freedom, one of the comb lines and the native 18-GHz comb spacing, are simultaneously phase-locked to known optical and microwave references. Active comb spacing stabilization improves long-term stability by six orders of magnitude, reaching a record instrument-limited residual instability of [Formula: see text]. Comparing 46 nitride frequency comb lines with a fiber laser frequency comb, we demonstrate the unprecedented microcomb tooth-to-tooth relative frequency uncertainty down to 50 mHz and 2.7 × 10(-16), heralding novel solid-state applications in precision spectroscopy, coherent communications, and astronomical spectrography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Wei Huang
- Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Corresponding author. E-mail: (S.-W.H.); (C.W.W.)
| | - Jinghui Yang
- Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mingbin Yu
- Institute of Microelectronics, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 117865, Singapore
| | - Bart H. McGuyer
- Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Dim-Lee Kwong
- Institute of Microelectronics, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 117865, Singapore
| | - Tanya Zelevinsky
- Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Chee Wei Wong
- Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Corresponding author. E-mail: (S.-W.H.); (C.W.W.)
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21
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Yang SH, Jarrahi M. Spectral characteristics of terahertz radiation from plasmonic photomixers. OPTICS EXPRESS 2015; 23:28522-28530. [PMID: 26561122 DOI: 10.1364/oe.23.028522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We present a comprehensive analysis of spectral characteristics of terahertz radiation from plasmonic photomixers. We fabricate plasmonic photomixer prototypes with plasmonic contact electrode gratings on a low temperature grown GaAs substrate and characterize the spectral properties of the generated terahertz radiation by use of a heterodyne detection scheme. Our analysis shows that linewidth, stability, and frequency tuning range of the generated terahertz radiation are directly determined by linewidth, stability, and wavelength tuning range of optical pump beam and not affected by device geometry, substrate properties, optical pump power level and other operational settings. Our study indicates the crucial role of optical sources in realizing high performance terahertz spectroscopy and wireless communication systems based on plasmonic photomixers.
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