1
|
Jin X, Lv Z, Yao L, Gong Q, Yang QF. Self-Suppressed Quantum-Limited Timing Jitter and Fundamental Noise Limit of Soliton Microcombs. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024; 133:073801. [PMID: 39213581 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.133.073801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Quantum-limited timing jitter of soliton microcombs has long been recognized as their fundamental noise limit. Here, we surpass such limit by utilizing dispersive wave dynamics in multimode microresonators. Through the viscous force provided by these dispersive waves, the quantum-limited timing jitter can be suppressed to a much lower level that forms the ultimate fundamental noise limit of soliton microcombs. Our findings enable coherence engineering of soliton microcombs in the quantum regime, providing critical guidelines for using soliton microcombs to synthesize ultralow-noise microwave and optical signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xing Jin
- State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zhe Lv
- State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Lu Yao
- State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Qihuang Gong
- State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, 030006 Taiyuan, China
- Peking University Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, Nantong, Jiangsu 226010, China
| | - Qi-Fan Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, 030006 Taiyuan, China
- Peking University Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, Nantong, Jiangsu 226010, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rebolledo-Salgado I, Helgason ÓB, Durán V, Girardi M, Zelan M, Torres-Company V. Active feedback stabilization of super-efficient microcombs in photonic molecules. OPTICS LETTERS 2024; 49:2325-2328. [PMID: 38691710 DOI: 10.1364/ol.514761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) frequency combs, when generated within coupled cavities, exhibit exceptional performance concerning controlled initiation and power conversion efficiency. Nevertheless, to fully exploit these enhanced capabilities, it is necessary to maintain the frequency comb in a low-noise state over an extended duration. In this study, we demonstrate the control and stabilization of super-efficient microcombs in a photonic molecule. Our findings demonstrate that there is a direct relation between effective detuning and soliton power, allowing the latter to be used as a setpoint in a feedback control loop. Employing this method, we achieve the stabilization of a highly efficient microcomb indefinitely, paving the way for its practical deployment in optical communications and dual-comb spectroscopy applications.
Collapse
|
3
|
Pan J, Huang T, Xu C, Xu G, Wu Z, Zhang J, Li X, Cheng Z, Zhang N, Yu H, Yin Z, Yin J, Huang B. Binding dynamics of cavity solitons in a Kerr resonator with high order dispersion. OPTICS EXPRESS 2023; 31:35709-35719. [PMID: 38017736 DOI: 10.1364/oe.499715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Cavity solitons are persistent light pulses arising from the externally driven Kerr resonators. Thanks to the passive parametric gain, cavity soliton has been endowed with the natural advantage of the chip-scaled integration since it was first experimentally generated in the fiber-based platform. Deterministic single soliton with smooth spectrum is a preferred state for numerous applications. However, multiple solitons are more common in the resonators with anomalous dispersion. In this condition, adjacent solitons are easily perturbed to attract and collide with each other. Some experimental observations deviated from the aforementioned description have recorded the stable soliton intervals that can last for a long time scale. This phenomenon is known as soliton binding and is attributed to the presence of narrow resonant sidebands in the spectrum. While the stationary configuration of two binding solitons has been investigated, the dynamical evolution remains an area for further exploration. In this paper, we discuss the binding dynamics of the cavity solitons in the presence of high-order dispersion. The proposed theoretical predictions match well with the numerical results, encompassing both the stationary stable intervals and dynamic trajectories. Our research will provide a comprehensive insight into the soliton motion induced by the internal perturbations.
Collapse
|
4
|
Li X, Wang Z, Li S, Zheng X, Xue X. Dual-comb generation with counter-propagating self-injection-locked solitons. OPTICS EXPRESS 2023; 31:36521-36530. [PMID: 38017802 DOI: 10.1364/oe.501778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Microresonator-based optical frequency combs have been greatly developed in the last decade and have shown great potential for many applications. A dual-comb scheme is usually required for lidar ranging, spectroscopy, spectrometer and microwave photonic channelizer. However, dual-comb generation with microresonators would require doubled hardware resources and more complex feedback control. Here we propose a novel scheme for dual-comb generation with a single laser diode self-injection locked to a single microresonator. The output of the laser diode is split and pumps the microresonator in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. The scheme is investigated intensely through numerical simulations based on a set of coupled Lugiato-Lefever equations. Turnkey counter-propagating single soliton generation and repetition rate tuning are demonstrated.
Collapse
|
5
|
Helgason ÓB, Girardi M, Ye Z, Lei F, Schröder J, Torres-Company V. Surpassing the nonlinear conversion efficiency of soliton microcombs. NATURE PHOTONICS 2023; 17:992-999. [PMID: 37920810 PMCID: PMC10618085 DOI: 10.1038/s41566-023-01280-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Laser frequency combs are enabling some of the most exciting scientific endeavours in the twenty-first century, ranging from the development of optical clocks to the calibration of the astronomical spectrographs used for discovering Earth-like exoplanets. Dissipative Kerr solitons generated in microresonators currently offer the prospect of attaining frequency combs in miniaturized systems by capitalizing on advances in photonic integration. Most of the applications based on soliton microcombs rely on tuning a continuous-wave laser into a longitudinal mode of a microresonator engineered to display anomalous dispersion. In this configuration, however, nonlinear physics precludes one from attaining dissipative Kerr solitons with high power conversion efficiency, with typical comb powers amounting to ~1% of the available laser power. Here we demonstrate that this fundamental limitation can be overcome by inducing a controllable frequency shift to a selected cavity resonance. Experimentally, we realize this shift using two linearly coupled anomalous-dispersion microresonators, resulting in a coherent dissipative Kerr soliton with a conversion efficiency exceeding 50% and excellent line spacing stability. We describe the soliton dynamics in this configuration and find vastly modified characteristics. By optimizing the microcomb power available on-chip, these results facilitate the practical implementation of a scalable integrated photonic architecture for energy-efficient applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Óskar B. Helgason
- Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Marcello Girardi
- Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Zhichao Ye
- Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Fuchuan Lei
- Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jochen Schröder
- Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Victor Torres-Company
- Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Lobanov VE, Kondratiev NM, Shitikov AE, Borovkova OV, Cordette SJ, Bilenko IA. Platicon stability in hot cavities. OPTICS LETTERS 2023; 48:2353-2356. [PMID: 37126272 DOI: 10.1364/ol.480851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Stability of platicons in hot cavities with normal group velocity dispersion at the interplay of Kerr and thermal nonlinearities was addressed numerically. The stability analysis was performed for different ranges of pump amplitude, thermal nonlinearity coefficient, and thermal relaxation time. It was revealed that for the positive thermal effect (i.e., the directions of the nonlinear and thermal resonance shifts are the same), the high-energy wide platicons are stable, while the negative thermal coefficient provides the stability of narrow platicons.
Collapse
|
7
|
Cheng Z, Huang D, Li F, Lu C, Wai PKA. Kerr soliton frequency comb generation by tuning the coupling coefficient in coupled nonlinear microcavities. OPTICS EXPRESS 2023; 31:4675-4690. [PMID: 36785429 DOI: 10.1364/oe.482228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Kerr soliton frequency comb generation in nonlinear microcavities with compact configurations are promising on-chip sources. Current Kerr comb generation by using a single microcavity with a tunable CW pump laser or high-power femtosecond pulse pump are difficult to be integrated on chip. In this paper, we propose an on-chip soliton comb generation scheme by tuning the coupling coefficient of two coupled microcavities instead of tuning the wavelength of the cw pump laser or using a pulsed pump laser in a single microcavity. The two microcavities are assumed to be identical. We showed by numerical simulation that Kerr comb generation is possible in both the blue and red detuned regions of the main microcavity in the coupled cavity system. We further found that the range and boundary of the soliton generation region of the couple microcavities depend on the coupling coefficient between the coupled cavities. To ensure that the modes being coupled have identical optical paths, we designed a Sagnac loop structure which couples the clockwise and counterclockwise modes in a single microcavity and demonstrated Kerr comb generation in both the blue and red detuned regions by tuning the coupling coefficient. The proposed Kerr comb generation scheme can be utilized for chip-scale integrated soliton comb sources, which will contribute to the development of on-chip applications.
Collapse
|
8
|
Minoofar A, Zou K, Pang K, Song H, Karpov M, Yessenov M, Zhao Z, Song H, Zhou H, Su X, Kippenberg TJ, Abouraddy AF, Tur M, Willner AE. Generation of OAM-carrying space-time wave packets with time-dependent beam radii using a coherent combination of multiple LG modes on multiple frequencies. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:45267-45278. [PMID: 36522933 DOI: 10.1364/oe.472745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Space-time (ST) wave packets, in which spatial and temporal characteristics are coupled, have gained attention due to their unique propagation characteristics, such as propagation invariance and tunable group velocity in addition to their potential ability to carry orbital angular momentum (OAM). Through experiment and simulation, we explore the generation of OAM-carrying ST wave packets, with the unique property of a time-dependent beam radius at various ranges of propagation distances. To achieve this, we synthesize multiple frequency comb lines, each assigned to a coherent combination of multiple Laguerre-Gaussian (LGℓ,p) modes with the same azimuthal index but different radial indices. The time-dependent interference among the spatial modes at the different frequencies leads to the generation of the desired OAM-carrying ST wave packet with dynamically varying radii. The simulation results indicate that the dynamic range of beam radius oscillations increases with the number of modes and frequency lines. The simulated ST wave packet for OAM of orders +1 or +3 has an OAM purity of >95%. In addition, we experimentally generate and measure the OAM-carrying ST wave packets with time-dependent beam radii. In the experiment, several lines of a Kerr frequency comb are spatially modulated with the superposition of multiple LG modes and combined to generate such an ST wave packet. In the experiment, ST wave packets for OAM of orders +1 or +3 have an OAM purity of >64%. In simulation and experiment, OAM purity decreases and beam radius becomes larger over the propagation.
Collapse
|
9
|
Geng Y, Xiao Y, Bai Q, Han X, Dong W, Wang W, Xue J, Yao B, Deng G, Zhou Q, Qiu K, Xu J, Zhou H. Wavelength-division multiplexing communications using integrated soliton microcomb laser source. OPTICS LETTERS 2022; 47:6129-6132. [PMID: 37219189 DOI: 10.1364/ol.475075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
In this Letter, we report an investigation of the feasibility and performance of wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) optical communications using an integrated perfect soliton crystal as the multi-channel laser source. First, we confirm that perfect soliton crystals pumped directly by a distributed-feedback (DFB) laser self-injection locked to the host microcavity has sufficiently low frequency and amplitude noise to encode advanced data formats. Second, perfect soliton crystals are exploited to boost the power level of each microcomb line, so that it can be directly used for data modulation, excluding preamplification. Third, in a proof-of-concept experiment, we demonstrate seven-channel 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) and 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) data transmissions using an integrated perfect soliton crystal as the laser carrier; excellent data receiving performance is obtained for various fiber link distances and amplifier configurations. Our study reveals that fully integrated Kerr soliton microcombs are viable and advantageous for optical data communications.
Collapse
|
10
|
Nie M, Li B, Jia K, Xie Y, Yan J, Zhu S, Xie Z, Huang SW. Dissipative soliton generation and real-time dynamics in microresonator-filtered fiber lasers. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2022; 11:296. [PMID: 36224184 PMCID: PMC9556569 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00998-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Optical frequency combs in microresonators (microcombs) have a wide range of applications in science and technology, due to its compact size and access to considerably larger comb spacing. Despite recent successes, the problems of self-starting, high mode efficiency as well as high output power have not been fully addressed for conventional soliton microcombs. Recent demonstration of laser cavity soliton microcombs by nesting a microresonator into a fiber cavity, shows great potential to solve the problems. Here we study the dissipative soliton generation and interaction dynamics in a microresonator-filtered fiber laser in both theory and experiment. We bring theoretical insight into the mode-locking principle, discuss the parameters effect on soliton properties, and provide experimental guidelines for broadband soliton generation. We predict chirped bright dissipative soliton with flat-top spectral envelope in microresonators with normal dispersion, which is fundamentally forbidden for the externally driven case. Furthermore, we experimentally achieve soliton microcombs with large bandwidth of ~10 nm and high mode efficiency of 90.7%. Finally, by taking advantage of an ultrahigh-speed time magnifier, we study the real-time soliton formation and interaction dynamics and experimentally observe soliton Newton's cradle. Our study will benefit the design of the novel, high-efficiency and self-starting microcombs for real-world applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mingming Nie
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.
| | - Bowen Li
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Kunpeng Jia
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
| | - Yijun Xie
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Jingjie Yan
- Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Shining Zhu
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
| | - Zhenda Xie
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, 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.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Shu H, Chang L, Tao Y, Shen B, Xie W, Jin M, Netherton A, Tao Z, Zhang X, Chen R, Bai B, Qin J, Yu S, Wang X, Bowers JE. Microcomb-driven silicon photonic systems. Nature 2022; 605:457-463. [PMID: 35585341 PMCID: PMC9117125 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04579-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Microcombs have sparked a surge of applications over the past decade, ranging from optical communications to metrology1-4. Despite their diverse deployment, most microcomb-based systems rely on a large amount of bulky elements and equipment to fulfil their desired functions, which is complicated, expensive and power consuming. By contrast, foundry-based silicon photonics (SiPh) has had remarkable success in providing versatile functionality in a scalable and low-cost manner5-7, but its available chip-based light sources lack the capacity for parallelization, which limits the scope of SiPh applications. Here we combine these two technologies by using a power-efficient and operationally simple aluminium-gallium-arsenide-on-insulator microcomb source to drive complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor SiPh engines. We present two important chip-scale photonic systems for optical data transmission and microwave photonics, respectively. A microcomb-based integrated photonic data link is demonstrated, based on a pulse-amplitude four-level modulation scheme with a two-terabit-per-second aggregate rate, and a highly reconfigurable microwave photonic filter with a high level of integration is constructed using a time-stretch approach. Such synergy of a microcomb and SiPh integrated components is an essential step towards the next generation of fully integrated photonic systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haowen Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Chang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Yuansheng Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Bitao Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Weiqiang Xie
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Ming Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Andrew Netherton
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Zihan Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xuguang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruixuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Bowen Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Shaohua Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xingjun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communications System and Networks, School of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, China.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China.
- Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, Peking University, Beijing, China.
| | - John E Bowers
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Pan J, Xu C, Wu Z, Zhang J, Huang T, Shum PP. Dynamics of cavity soliton driven by chirped optical pulses in Kerr resonators. FRONTIERS OF OPTOELECTRONICS 2022; 15:14. [PMID: 36637576 PMCID: PMC9756223 DOI: 10.1007/s12200-022-00018-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent researches have demonstrated that pulsed driving is an effective method to increase the temporal overlap between cavity soliton (CS) and pump field, thereby increasing the pump-to-comb conversion efficiency. The amplitude-modulated inhomogeneity of the background wave causes the solitons to drift toward edges of the driving pulse. To eliminate the multiple temporal trapping positions, induced by the spontaneous symmetry breaking, we propose the chirped pulse driving for deterministic single soliton generation. We theoretically explain the physical mechanism of the chirp pulse driving, as the combination of amplitude and phase modulation. Our numerical simulations demonstrate the chirp is responsible for the single soliton generation. A detailed investigation for dynamics of CSs sustained by chirped pulses, shows the recovery of spontaneous symmetry breaking. In addition, the desynchronized chirped pulse driving is also considered here. Considering a weak chirp parameter, the desynchronization-dependent trapping position diagram is divided into multiple areas including two CSs, a single CS, two oscillating CSs, and no CS. With a sufficient chirp parameter considered, the trapping position curve becomes a monotonous function of the desynchronized drift velocity, which indicates deterministic single soliton generation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jianxing Pan
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Chaoyu Xu
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Zhichao Wu
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Tianye Huang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Information, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, China.
| | - Perry Ping Shum
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Nishimoto K, Minoshima K, Yasui T, Kuse N. Thermal control of a Kerr microresonator soliton comb via an optical sideband. OPTICS LETTERS 2022; 47:281-284. [PMID: 35030587 DOI: 10.1364/ol.448326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We report the thermal control of a dissipative Kerr microresonator soliton comb via an optical sideband generated from an electro-optic modulator. Same as the previous reports using an independent auxiliary laser, our sideband-based (S-B) auxiliary light also enables access to a stable soliton comb and reduces the phase noise of the soliton comb, greatly simplifying the set-up with an auxiliary laser. More importantly, because of the intrinsically high frequency/phase correlation between the pump and S-B auxiliary light, the detuning between the pump and resonance frequency is automatically almost fixed, which allows an 18 times larger "effective" soliton existence range than the conventional method using an independent auxiliary laser, as well as a scanning of the soliton comb of more than 10 GHz without using microheaters.
Collapse
|
14
|
Tsao E, Xie Y, Nie M, Huang SW. Monostable dissipative Kerr solitons. OPTICS LETTERS 2022; 47:122-125. [PMID: 34951897 DOI: 10.1364/ol.441165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Kerr microcombs hold the promise of bringing frequency combs onto the chip and into a variety of applications requiring low size, weight, power, and cost. However, reliable Kerr microcomb generation is hindered by the thermal effect and multistability of dissipative Kerr solitons (DKSs). Past approaches toward Kerr microcomb reliability include either deterministic single-soliton generation or self-starting soliton behavior but not both. Here we describe a regime of DKSs that is both deterministic and self-starting, in which only a single soliton can stably exist. We term this new DKS regime "monostable DKSs" (MS-DKSs) as all other optical behaviors, such as continuous-wave-only and multiple solitons, are fundamentally forbidden by the design. We establish a graphical model to describe MS-DKSs and discuss the design principles of MS-DKSs. We numerically demonstrate the MS-DKS behavior in an example periodically poled lithium niobate microring resonator.
Collapse
|
15
|
Kuse N, Navickaite G, Geiselmann M, Yasui T, Minoshima K. Frequency-scanned microresonator soliton comb with tracking of the frequency of all comb modes. OPTICS LETTERS 2021; 46:3400-3403. [PMID: 34264223 DOI: 10.1364/ol.426841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Rapid and large scanning of a dissipative Kerr-microresonator soliton comb with characterization of all comb modes along with the separation of the comb modes is imperative for the emerging applications of frequency-scanned soliton combs. However, the scan speed is limited by the gain of feedback systems, and measurement of the frequency shift of all comb modes has not been demonstrated. To overcome the limitation of the feedback, we incorporate feedback with feedforward. With an additional gain of >40dB by a feedforward signal, a dissipative Kerr-microresonator soliton comb is scanned by 70 GHz in 500µs, 50 GHz in 125µs, and 25 GHz in 50µs (= 500 THz/s). Furthermore, we propose and demonstrate a method to measure the frequency shift of all comb modes, in which an imbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer with two outputs with different wavelengths is used. Because of the two degrees of freedom of optical frequency combs, the measurement at two different wavelengths enables estimation of the frequency shift of all comb modes.
Collapse
|
16
|
Lobanov VE, Kondratiev NM, Bilenko IA. Thermally induced generation of platicons in optical microresonators. OPTICS LETTERS 2021; 46:2380-2383. [PMID: 33988588 DOI: 10.1364/ol.422988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate a numerically novel mechanism providing generation of the flat-top solitonic pulses, platicons, in optical microresonators at normal group velocity dispersion (GVD) via negative thermal effects. We found that platicon excitation is possible if the ratio of the photon lifetime to the thermal relaxation time is large enough. We show that there are two regimes of the platicon generation depending on the pump amplitude: the smooth one and the oscillatory one. Parameter ranges providing platicon excitation are found and analyzed for different values of the thermal relaxation time, frequency scan rate, and GVD coefficient. Possibility of the turn-key generation regime is also shown.
Collapse
|
17
|
Jeong D, Kim DG, Do IH, Lee H. Hydrophobic passivation of ultra-high-Q silica wedge resonators using hexamethyldisilazane. OPTICS LETTERS 2021; 46:2019-2022. [PMID: 33929408 DOI: 10.1364/ol.420919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr solitons in ultra-high-Q resonators are extremely sensitive to the thermal behavior of the resonators. Especially for resonators with hydrophilic surfaces, moisture continuously adsorbs on their surfaces and causes additional absorption loss that results in an excessive thermal shift of resonance frequency. This change makes soliton mode locking more challenging or even impossible. Here, we report hydrophobic monolayer passivation using hexamethyldisilazane on ultra-high-Q silica wedge resonators. It was experimentally confirmed that the Q-factor and dispersion were maintained after passivation, and excess thermal shift by moisture was inhibited for more than three days in the atmosphere. Soliton mode locking was successfully performed with the resonator one month after passivation.
Collapse
|
18
|
Yang QF, Ji QX, Wu L, Shen B, Wang H, Bao C, Yuan Z, Vahala K. Dispersive-wave induced noise limits in miniature soliton microwave sources. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1442. [PMID: 33664265 PMCID: PMC7933157 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21658-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Compact, low-noise microwave sources are required throughout a wide range of application areas including frequency metrology, wireless-communications and airborne radar systems. And the photonic generation of microwaves using soliton microcombs offers a path towards integrated, low noise microwave signal sources. In these devices, a so called quiet-point of operation has been shown to reduce microwave frequency noise. Such operation decouples pump frequency noise from the soliton's motion by balancing the Raman self-frequency shift with dispersive-wave recoil. Here, we explore the limit of this noise suppression approach and reveal a fundamental noise mechanism associated with fluctuations of the dispersive wave frequency. At the same time, pump noise reduction by as much as 36 dB is demonstrated. This fundamental noise mechanism is expected to impact microwave noise (and pulse timing jitter) whenever solitons radiate into dispersive waves belonging to different spatial mode families.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Fan Yang
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Qing-Xin Ji
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Lue Wu
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Boqiang Shen
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Heming Wang
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Chengying Bao
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Zhiquan Yuan
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Kerry Vahala
- grid.20861.3d0000000107068890T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Ivars SB, Kartashov YV, Torner L, Conejero JA, Milián C. Reversible Self-Replication of Spatiotemporal Kerr Cavity Patterns. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 126:063903. [PMID: 33635689 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.126.063903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We uncover a novel and robust phenomenon that causes the gradual self-replication of spatiotemporal Kerr cavity patterns in cylindrical microresonators. These patterns are inherently synchronized multifrequency combs. Under proper conditions, the axially localized nature of the patterns leads to a fundamental drift instability that induces transitions among patterns with a different number of rows. Self-replications, thus, result in the stepwise addition or removal of individual combs along the cylinder's axis. Transitions occur in a fully reversible and, consequently, deterministic way. The phenomenon puts forward a novel paradigm for Kerr frequency comb formation and reveals important insights into the physics of multidimensional nonlinear patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Salim B Ivars
- Institut Universitari de Matemàtica Pura i Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
- ICFO-Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- Departament de Física, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08222 Terrassa (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Yaroslav V Kartashov
- ICFO-Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- Institute of Spectroscopy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Troitsk, Moscow, 108840, Russia
| | - Lluis Torner
- ICFO-Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Alberto Conejero
- Institut Universitari de Matemàtica Pura i Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
| | - Carles Milián
- Institut Universitari de Matemàtica Pura i Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
- ICFO-Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Qi Z, Leshem A, Jaramillo-Villegas JA, D'Aguanno G, Carruthers TF, Gat O, Weiner AM, Menyuk CR. Deterministic access of broadband frequency combs in microresonators using cnoidal waves in the soliton crystal limit. OPTICS EXPRESS 2020; 28:36304-36315. [PMID: 33379727 DOI: 10.1364/oe.405655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We present a method to deterministically obtain broad bandwidth frequency combs in microresonators. These broadband frequency combs correspond to cnoidal waves in the limit when they can be considered soliton crystals or single solitons. The method relies on moving adiabatically through the (frequency detuning)×(pump amplitude) parameter space, while avoiding the chaotic regime. We consider in detail Si3N4 microresonators with small or intermediate dimensions and an SiO2 microresonator with large dimensions, corresponding to prior experimental work. We also discuss the impact of thermal effects on the stable regions for the cnoidal waves. Their principal effect is to increase the detuning for all the stable regions, but they also skew the stable regions, since higher pump power corresponds to higher power and hence increased temperature and detuning. The change in the detuning is smaller for single solitons than it is for soliton crystals. Without temperature effects, the stable regions for single solitons and soliton crystals almost completely overlap. When thermal effects are included, the stable region for single solitons separates from the stable regions for the soliton crystals, explaining in part the effectiveness of backwards-detuning to obtaining single solitons.
Collapse
|
21
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Abstract
Optical frequency combs have a wide range of applications in science and technology1. An important development for miniature and integrated comb systems is the formation of dissipative Kerr solitons in coherently pumped high-quality-factor optical microresonators2-9. Such soliton microcombs10 have been applied to spectroscopy11-13, the search for exoplanets14,15, optical frequency synthesis16, time keeping17 and other areas10. In addition, the recent integration of microresonators with lasers has revealed the viability of fully chip-based soliton microcombs18,19. However, the operation of microcombs requires complex startup and feedback protocols that necessitate difficult-to-integrate optical and electrical components, and microcombs operating at rates that are compatible with electronic circuits-as is required in nearly all comb systems-have not yet been integrated with pump lasers because of their high power requirements. Here we experimentally demonstrate and theoretically describe a turnkey operation regime for soliton microcombs co-integrated with a pump laser. We show the appearance of an operating point at which solitons are immediately generated by turning the pump laser on, thereby eliminating the need for photonic and electronic control circuitry. These features are combined with high-quality-factor Si3N4 resonators to provide microcombs with repetition frequencies as low as 15 gigahertz that are fully integrated into an industry standard (butterfly) package, thereby offering compelling advantages for high-volume production.
Collapse
|
23
|
Abstract
Since its invention, optical frequency comb has revolutionized a broad range of subjects from metrology to spectroscopy. The recent development of microresonator-based frequency combs (microcombs) provides a unique pathway to create frequency comb systems on a chip. Indeed, microcomb-based spectroscopy, ranging, optical synthesizer, telecommunications and astronomical calibrations have been reported recently. Critical to many of the integrated comb systems is the broad coverage of comb spectra. Here, microcombs of more than two-octave span (450 nm to 2,008 nm) is demonstrated through χ(2) and χ(3) nonlinearities in a deformed silica microcavity. The deformation lifts the circular symmetry and creates chaotic tunneling channels that enable broadband collection of intracavity emission with a single waveguide. Our demonstration introduces a new degree of freedom, cavity deformation, to the microcomb studies, and our microcomb spectral range is useful for applications in optical clock, astronomical calibration and biological imaging. Here, the authors demonstrate the use of chaos to obtain 2-octave comb generation. The deformation lifts the circular symmetry and creates chaotic tunneling channels that enable broadband collection of intracavity emission with a single waveguide, introducing a new degree of freedom to microcomb studies.
Collapse
|
24
|
Xiao Z, Wu K, Li T, Chen J. Deterministic single-soliton generation in a graphene-FP microresonator. OPTICS EXPRESS 2020; 28:14933-14947. [PMID: 32403526 DOI: 10.1364/oe.392261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr solitons (DKS) in high-Q microresonators have attracted considerable attention for their broadband optical frequency combs and ultra-short pulse generation. Owing to thermal effects, complicated tuning strategies are required to generate and sustain the single-soliton state in microresonators. In this paper, we propose a novel microresonator scheme based on the Fabry-Pérot fiber resonator and single-layer graphene saturable absorber (SA) and demonstrate that this design allows deterministic single-soliton generation without frequency tuning and has strong robustness against pump perturbation. The soliton range and thermal instability of the proposed device are also discussed. This work facilitates a novel nonlinear platform connecting high-Q microresonators and conventional SA-assisted mode-locking operations.
Collapse
|
25
|
Zhang S, Silver JM, Shang X, Del Bino L, Ridler NM, Del'Haye P. Terahertz wave generation using a soliton microcomb. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:35257-35266. [PMID: 31878698 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.035257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The Terahertz or millimeter wave frequency band (300 GHz - 3 THz) is spectrally located between microwaves and infrared light and has attracted significant interest for applications in broadband wireless communications, space-borne radiometers for Earth remote sensing, astrophysics, and imaging. In particular optically generated THz waves are of high interest for low-noise signal generation. Here, we propose and demonstrate stabilized terahertz wave generation using a microresonator-based frequency comb (microcomb). A unitravelling-carrier photodiode (UTC-PD) converts low-noise optical soliton pulses from the microcomb to a terahertz wave at the soliton's repetition rate (331 GHz). With a free-running microcomb, the Allan deviation of the Terahertz signal is 4.5×10-9 at 1 s measurement time with a phase noise of -72 dBc/Hz (-118 dBc/Hz) at 10 kHz (10 MHz) offset frequency. By locking the repetition rate to an in-house hydrogen maser, in-loop fractional frequency stabilities of 9.6×10-15 and 1.9×10-17 are obtained at averaging times of 1 s and 2000 s respectively, indicating that the stability of the generated THz wave is limited by the maser reference signal. Moreover, the terahertz signal is successfully used to perform a proof-of-principle demonstration of terahertz imaging of peanuts. Combining the monolithically integrated UTC-PD with an on-chip microcomb, the demonstrated technique could provide a route towards highly stable continuous terahertz wave generation in chip-scale packages for out-of-the-lab applications. In particular, such systems would be useful as compact tools for high-capacity wireless communication, spectroscopy, imaging, remote sensing, and astrophysical applications.
Collapse
|
26
|
Gong Z, Liu X, Xu Y, Xu M, Surya JB, Lu J, Bruch A, Zou C, Tang HX. Soliton microcomb generation at 2 μm in z-cut lithium niobate microring resonators. OPTICS LETTERS 2019; 44:3182-3185. [PMID: 31199411 DOI: 10.1364/ol.44.003182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Chip-based soliton frequency combs have been demonstrated on various material platforms, offering broadband, mutually coherent, and equally spaced frequency lines desired for many applications. Lithium niobate (LN), possessing both second- and third-order optical nonlinearities, as well as integrability on insulating substrates, has emerged as a novel source for microcomb generation and controlling. Here we demonstrate mode-locked soliton microcombs generated around 2 μm in a high-Q z-cut LN microring resonator. The intracavity photorefractive effect is found to be still dominant over the thermal effect in the 2 μm region, which facilitates direct accessing soliton states in the red-detuned regime, as reported in the telecom band. We also find that intracavity stimulated Raman scattering is greatly suppressed when moving the pump wavelength from the telecom band to 2 μm, thus alleviating Raman-Kerr comb competition. This Letter expands mode-locked LN microcombs to 2 μm, and could enable a variety of potential applications based on LN nanophotonic platform.
Collapse
|
27
|
Suh MG, Wang CY, Johnson C, Vahala KJ. Directly pumped 10 GHz microcomb modules from low-power diode lasers. OPTICS LETTERS 2019; 44:1841-1843. [PMID: 30933161 DOI: 10.1364/ol.44.001841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Soliton microcombs offer the prospect of advanced optical metrology and timing systems in compact form factors. In these applications, the pumping of microcombs directly from a semiconductor laser without amplification or triggering components is desirable to reduce system power and to simplify system design. At the same time, low-repetition-rate microcombs are required in many comb applications as an interface to detectors and electronics, but their increased mode volume makes them challenging to pump at low power. Here 10 GHz repetition rate soliton microcombs are directly pumped by low-power (<20 mW) diode lasers. High-Q silica microresonators are used for this low-power operation and are packaged into fiber-connectorized modules that feature temperature control for improved long-term frequency stability.
Collapse
|
28
|
Yang QF, Shen B, Wang H, Tran M, Zhang Z, Yang KY, Wu L, Bao C, Bowers J, Yariv A, Vahala K. Vernier spectrometer using counterpropagating soliton microcombs. Science 2019; 363:965-968. [PMID: 30792361 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw2317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Determination of laser frequency with high resolution under continuous and abrupt tuning conditions is important for sensing, spectroscopy, and communications. We show that a single microresonator provides rapid and broadband measurement of optical frequencies with a relative frequency precision comparable to that of conventional dual-frequency comb systems. Dual-locked counterpropagating solitons having slightly different repetition rates were used to implement a vernier spectrometer, which enabled characterization of laser tuning rates as high as 10 terahertz per second, broadly step-tuned lasers, multiline laser spectra, and molecular absorption lines. Besides providing a considerable technical simplification through the dual-locked solitons and enhanced capability for measurement of arbitrarily tuned sources, our results reveal possibilities for chip-scale spectrometers that exceed the performance of tabletop grating and interferometer-based devices.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Fan Yang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Boqiang Shen
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Heming Wang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Minh Tran
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Zhewei Zhang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Ki Youl Yang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.,E. L. Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lue Wu
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Chengying Bao
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - John Bowers
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Amnon Yariv
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Kerry Vahala
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Kuse N, Briles TC, Papp SB, Fermann ME. Control of Kerr-microresonator optical frequency comb by a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometer. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:3873-3883. [PMID: 30876012 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.003873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
A technique to integrate key functions of a Kerr-microresonator optical frequency comb into one device, i.e., a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometer (DP-MZI), is proposed. In the technique, a DP-MZI enables the control of carrier envelope offset frequency (fceo), as well as repetition frequency (frep), in addition to generating a stable dissipative Kerr soliton. In experiments, influences on fceo and frep by pump frequency and power modulation via a DP-MZI are investigated, followed by a demonstration of long-term full stabilization of a microresonator soliton comb to a fiber-based optical frequency comb. As another example demonstration, timing jitter of a microresonator soliton comb is significantly suppressed by referencing to a fiber through a two-wavelength delayed self-heterodyne interferometer (TWDI).
Collapse
|
30
|
Zhou H, Geng Y, Cui W, Huang SW, Zhou Q, Qiu K, Wei Wong C. Soliton bursts and deterministic dissipative Kerr soliton generation in auxiliary-assisted microcavities. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2019; 8:50. [PMID: 31149335 PMCID: PMC6538660 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-019-0161-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr solitons in resonant frequency combs offer a promising route for ultrafast mode-locking, precision spectroscopy and time-frequency standards. The dynamics for the dissipative soliton generation, however, are intrinsically intertwined with thermal nonlinearities, limiting the soliton generation parameter map and statistical success probabilities of the solitary state. Here, via use of an auxiliary laser heating approach to suppress thermal dragging dynamics in dissipative soliton comb formation, we demonstrate stable Kerr soliton singlet formation and soliton bursts. First, we access a new soliton existence range with an inverse-sloped Kerr soliton evolution-diminishing soliton energy with increasing pump detuning. Second, we achieve deterministic transitions from Turing-like comb patterns directly into the dissipative Kerr soliton singlet pulse bypassing the chaotic states. This is achieved by avoiding subcomb overlaps at lower pump power, with near-identical singlet soliton comb generation over twenty instances. Third, with the red-detuned pump entrance route enabled, we uncover unique spontaneous soliton bursts in the direct formation of low-noise optical frequency combs from continuum background noise. The burst dynamics are due to the rapid entry and mutual attraction of the pump laser into the cavity mode, aided by the auxiliary laser and matching well with our numerical simulations. Enabled by the auxiliary-assisted frequency comb dynamics, we demonstrate an application of automatic soliton comb recovery and long-term stabilization against strong external perturbations. Our findings hold potential to expand the parameter space for ultrafast nonlinear dynamics and precision optical frequency comb stabilization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Heng Zhou
- Key Lab of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communication Networks, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Yong Geng
- Key Lab of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communication Networks, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Wenwen Cui
- Key Lab of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communication Networks, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731 Chengdu, 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, CO 80309 USA
| | - Qiang Zhou
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Kun Qiu
- Key Lab of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communication Networks, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Chee Wei Wong
- Fang Lu Mesoscopic Optics and Quantum Electronics Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Suh MG, Yi X, Lai YH, Leifer S, Grudinin IS, Vasisht G, Martin EC, Fitzgerald MP, Doppmann G, Wang J, Mawet D, Papp SB, Diddams SA, Beichman C, Vahala K. Searching for Exoplanets Using a Microresonator Astrocomb. NATURE PHOTONICS 2019; 13:25-30. [PMID: 30740138 PMCID: PMC6364311 DOI: 10.1038/s41566-018-0312-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Orbiting planets induce a weak radial velocity (RV) shift in the host star that provides a powerful method of planet detection. Importantly, the RV technique provides information about the exoplanet mass, which is unavailable with the complementary technique of transit photometry. However, RV detection of an Earth-like planet in the 'habitable zone'1 requires extreme spectroscopic precision that is only possible using a laser frequency comb (LFC)2. Conventional LFCs require complex filtering steps to be compatible with astronomical spectrographs, but a new chip-based microresonator device, the Kerr soliton microcomb3-8, is an ideal match for astronomical spectrograph resolution and can eliminate these filtering steps. Here, we demonstrate an atomic/molecular line-referenced soliton microcomb as a first in-the-field demonstration of microcombs for calibration of astronomical spectrographs. These devices can ultimately provide LFC systems that would occupy only a few cubic centimetres9,10, thereby greatly expanding implementation of these technologies into remote and mobile environments beyond the research lab.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Myoung-Gyun Suh
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Xu Yi
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Yu-Hung Lai
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - S. Leifer
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - Ivan S. Grudinin
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - G. Vasisht
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
| | - Emily C. Martin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Michael P. Fitzgerald
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - G. Doppmann
- W.M. Keck Observatory, Kamuela, HI 96743, USA
| | - J. Wang
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - D. Mawet
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Scott B. Papp
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - Scott A. Diddams
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - C. Beichman
- NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Corresponding author: Kerry Vahala () and C. Beichman ()
| | - Kerry Vahala
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- Corresponding author: Kerry Vahala () and C. Beichman ()
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Battery-operated integrated frequency comb generator. Nature 2018; 562:401-405. [PMID: 30297798 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0598-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Optical frequency combs are broadband sources that offer mutually coherent, equidistant spectral lines with unprecedented precision in frequency and timing for an array of applications1. Frequency combs generated in microresonators through the Kerr nonlinearity require a single-frequency pump laser and have the potential to provide highly compact, scalable and power-efficient devices2,3. Here we demonstrate a device-a laser-integrated Kerr frequency comb generator-that fulfils this potential through use of extremely low-loss silicon nitride waveguides that form both the microresonator and an integrated laser cavity. Our device generates low-noise soliton-mode-locked combs with a repetition rate of 194 gigahertz at wavelengths near 1,550 nanometres using only 98 milliwatts of electrical pump power. The dual-cavity configuration that we use combines the laser and microresonator, demonstrating the flexibility afforded by close integration of these components, and together with the ultra low power consumption should enable production of highly portable and robust frequency and timing references, sensors and signal sources. This chip-based integration of microresonators and lasers should also provide tools with which to investigate the dynamics of comb and soliton generation.
Collapse
|
33
|
Gong Z, Bruch A, Shen M, Guo X, Jung H, Fan L, Liu X, Zhang L, Wang J, Li J, Yan J, Tang HX. High-fidelity cavity soliton generation in crystalline AlN micro-ring resonators. OPTICS LETTERS 2018; 43:4366-4369. [PMID: 30211865 DOI: 10.1364/ol.43.004366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Chip-scale mode-locked dissipative Kerr solitons have been realized on various materials platforms, making it possible to achieve a miniature, highly coherent frequency comb source with high repetition rates. Aluminum nitride (AlN), an appealing nonlinear optical material having both Kerr (χ3), and Pockels (χ2) effects, has immerse potential for comb self-referencing without the need for external harmonic generators. However, cavity soliton states have not yet been achieved in AlN microresonators. Here, we demonstrate mode-locked Kerr cavity soliton generation in a crystalline AlN microring resonator. By utilizing ultrafast tuning of the pump frequency through single-sideband modulation, in combination with an optimized wavelength scan and pump power-ramp patterns, we can deterministically elongate a ∼400 ns short-lived soliton to a time span as long as we wish to hold it.
Collapse
|
34
|
Yi X, Yang QF, Yang KY, Vahala K. Imaging soliton dynamics in optical microcavities. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3565. [PMID: 30177753 PMCID: PMC6120930 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06031-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Solitons are self-sustained wavepackets that occur in many physical systems. Their recent demonstration in optical microresonators has provided a new platform for the study of nonlinear optical physics with practical implications for miniaturization of time standards, spectroscopy tools, and frequency metrology systems. However, despite its importance to the understanding of soliton physics, as well as development of new applications, imaging the rich dynamical behavior of solitons in microcavities has not been possible. These phenomena require a difficult combination of high-temporal-resolution and long-record-length in order to capture the evolving trajectories of closely spaced microcavity solitons. Here, an imaging method is demonstrated that visualizes soliton motion with sub-picosecond resolution over arbitrary time spans. A wide range of complex soliton transient behavior are characterized in the temporal or spectral domain, including soliton formation, collisions, spectral breathing, and soliton decay. This method can serve as a visualization tool for developing new soliton applications and understanding complex soliton physics in microcavities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xu Yi
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Qi-Fan Yang
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Ki Youl Yang
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Kerry Vahala
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Stone JR, Briles TC, Drake TE, Spencer DT, Carlson DR, Diddams SA, Papp SB. Thermal and Nonlinear Dissipative-Soliton Dynamics in Kerr-Microresonator Frequency Combs. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 121:063902. [PMID: 30141662 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.121.063902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We explore the dynamical response of dissipative Kerr solitons to changes in pump power and detuning and show how thermal and nonlinear processes couple these parameters to the frequency-comb degrees of freedom. Our experiments are enabled by a Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) stabilization approach that provides on-demand, radio-frequency control of the frequency comb. PDH locking not only guides Kerr-soliton formation from a cold microresonator but opens a path to decouple the repetition and carrier-envelope-offset frequencies. In particular, we demonstrate phase stabilization of both Kerr-comb degrees of freedom to a fractional frequency precision below 10^{-16}, compatible with optical-time-keeping technology. Moreover, we investigate the fundamental role that residual laser-resonator detuning noise plays in the spectral purity of microwave generation with Kerr combs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan R Stone
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Travis C Briles
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Tara E Drake
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - Daryl T Spencer
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - David R Carlson
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - Scott A Diddams
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Scott B Papp
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Kippenberg TJ, Gaeta AL, Lipson M, Gorodetsky ML. Dissipative Kerr solitons in optical microresonators. Science 2018; 361:361/6402/eaan8083. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aan8083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 699] [Impact Index Per Article: 116.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
|
37
|
Kang Z, Li F, Yuan J, Nakkeeran K, Kutz JN, Wu Q, Yu C, Wai PKA. Deterministic generation of single soliton Kerr frequency comb in microresonators by a single shot pulsed trigger. OPTICS EXPRESS 2018; 26:18563-18577. [PMID: 30114034 DOI: 10.1364/oe.26.018563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Kerr soliton frequency comb generation in monolithic microresonators recently attracted great interests as it enables chip-scale few-cycle pulse generation at microwave rates with smooth octave-spanning spectra for self-referencing. Such versatile platform finds significant applications in dual-comb spectroscopy, low-noise optical frequency synthesis, coherent communication systems, etc. However, it still remains challenging to straightforwardly and deterministically generate and sustain the single-soliton state in microresonators. In this paper, we propose and theoretically demonstrate the excitation of single-soliton Kerr frequency comb by seeding the continuous-wave driven nonlinear microcavity with a pulsed trigger. Unlike the mostly adopted frequency tuning scheme reported so far, we show that an energetic single shot pulse can trigger the single-soliton state deterministically without experiencing any unstable or chaotic states. Neither the pump frequency nor the cavity resonance is required to be tuned. The generated mode-locked single-soliton Kerr comb is robust and insensitive to perturbations. Even when the thermal effect induced by the absorption of the intracavity light is taken into account, the proposed single pulse trigger approach remains valid without requiring any thermal compensation means.
Collapse
|
38
|
Li X, Shen B, Wang H, Yang KY, Yi X, Yang QF, Zhou Z, Vahala K. Universal isocontours for dissipative Kerr solitons. OPTICS LETTERS 2018; 43:2567-2570. [PMID: 29856431 DOI: 10.1364/ol.43.002567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr solitons can be generated within an existence region defined on a space of normalized pumping power versus cavity-pump detuning frequency. The contours of constant soliton power and constant pulse width in this region are studied through measurement and simulation. Such isocontours impart structure to the existence region and improve understanding of soliton locking and stabilization methods. As part of the study, dimensionless, closed-form expressions for soliton power and pulse width are developed (including Raman contributions). They provide isocontours in close agreement with those from the full simulation, and, as universal expressions, can simplify the estimation of soliton properties across a wide range of systems.
Collapse
|
39
|
Wang W, Lu Z, Zhang W, Chu ST, Little BE, Wang L, Xie X, Liu M, Yang Q, Wang L, Zhao J, Wang G, Sun Q, Liu Y, Wang Y, Zhao W. Robust soliton crystals in a thermally controlled microresonator. OPTICS LETTERS 2018; 43:2002-2005. [PMID: 29714731 DOI: 10.1364/ol.43.002002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 03/24/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate robust soliton crystals generation with a fixed frequency pump laser through a thermoelectric-cooler-based thermal-tuning approach in a butterfly-packaged complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible microresonator. Varieties of soliton crystal states, exhibiting "palm-like" optical spectra that result from the strong interactions between the dense soliton ensembles and reflect their temporal distribution directly, are experimentally observed by sweeping one cavity resonance across the pump frequency from the blue-detuned side by reducing the operating temperature of the resonator. Benefitting from the tiny intra-cavity energy change, repeatable interconversion between the chaotic modulation instability and stable soliton crystal states can be successfully achieved via simple tuning of the temperature or pump power, showing the easy accessibility and excellent stability of such soliton crystals. This work could facilitate microresonator-based optical frequency combs towards a portable, adjustable, and low-cost system while avoiding the requirements of delicate frequency-sweeping pump techniques.
Collapse
|
40
|
Fülöp A, Mazur M, Lorences-Riesgo A, Helgason ÓB, Wang PH, Xuan Y, Leaird DE, Qi M, Andrekson PA, Weiner AM, Torres-Company V. High-order coherent communications using mode-locked dark-pulse Kerr combs from microresonators. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1598. [PMID: 29686226 PMCID: PMC5913129 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04046-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Microresonator frequency combs harness the nonlinear Kerr effect in an integrated optical cavity to generate a multitude of phase-locked frequency lines. The line spacing can reach values in the order of 100 GHz, making it an attractive multi-wavelength light source for applications in fiber-optic communications. Depending on the dispersion of the microresonator, different physical dynamics have been observed. A recently discovered comb state corresponds to the formation of mode-locked dark pulses in a normal-dispersion microcavity. Such dark-pulse combs are particularly compelling for advanced coherent communications since they display unusually high power-conversion efficiency. Here, we report the first coherent-transmission experiments using 64-quadrature amplitude modulation encoded onto the frequency lines of a dark-pulse comb. The high conversion efficiency of the comb enables transmitted optical signal-to-noise ratios above 33 dB, while maintaining a laser pump power level compatible with state-of-the-art hybrid silicon lasers. Dark-pulse combs may be useful for coherent communications since they display high power conversion efficiency. Here, the authors report the first demonstration of coherent wavelength division multiplexing using dark pulse microresonator combs high signal-to-noise while maintaining a low on-chip pump power.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Attila Fülöp
- Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Mikael Mazur
- Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Abel Lorences-Riesgo
- Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden.,IT-Instituto de Telecomunicações, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Óskar B Helgason
- Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Pei-Hsun Wang
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA
| | - Yi Xuan
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA.,Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA
| | - Dan E Leaird
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA
| | - Minghao Qi
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA.,Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA
| | - Peter A Andrekson
- Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Andrew M Weiner
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA.,Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2035, USA
| | - Victor Torres-Company
- Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Suh MG, Vahala KJ. Soliton microcomb range measurement. Science 2018; 359:884-887. [PMID: 29472476 DOI: 10.1126/science.aao1968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Laser-based range measurement systems are important in many application areas, including autonomous vehicles, robotics, manufacturing, formation flying of satellites, and basic science. Coherent laser ranging systems using dual-frequency combs provide an unprecedented combination of long range, high precision, and fast update rate. We report dual-comb distance measurement using chip-based soliton microcombs. A single pump laser was used to generate dual-frequency combs within a single microresonator as counterpropagating solitons. We demonstrated time-of-flight measurement with 200-nanometer precision at an averaging time of 500 milliseconds within a range ambiguity of 16 millimeters. Measurements at distances up to 25 meters with much lower precision were also performed. Our chip-based source is an important step toward miniature dual-comb laser ranging systems that are suitable for photonic integration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Myoung-Gyun Suh
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Kerry J Vahala
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Zheng Y, Qin T, Yang J, Chen X, Ge L, Wan W. Observation of gain spiking of optical frequency comb in a microcavity. OPTICS EXPRESS 2017; 25:31140-31147. [PMID: 29245791 DOI: 10.1364/oe.25.031140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Optical frequency combs are crucial for both fundamental science and applications that demand a wide frequency range and ultra-high resolution. Recent advances in optical frequency combs based on the nonlinear Kerr effect in microcavities have opened up new opportunities with such compact platforms. Although optical frequency combs have previously been well studied in the steady state, some fundamental perspectives such as nonlinear phase modulation during comb generations are yet explored. Here we demonstrate transient nonlinear dynamics during the formation of optical frequency combs inside a Kerr microcavity. We show that gain spiking forms due to nonlinear phase modulation causing comb lines' self-detuning from nearby cavity resonances, which provides one key mechanism to stabilize optical frequency combs. Moreover, we have observed nonlinear beating by injecting an external probe to examine nonlinear cross-phase modulation between comb lines. These nonlinear dynamics reveal the hidden features of self-stabilization and cross modulation during transient comb generations, which may enable new applications in mode-locking comb and tunable comb generation in microcavities.
Collapse
|
43
|
Lee SH, Oh DY, Yang QF, Shen B, Wang H, Yang KY, Lai YH, Yi X, Li X, Vahala K. Towards visible soliton microcomb generation. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1295. [PMID: 29101367 PMCID: PMC5670225 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01473-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Frequency combs have applications that extend from the ultra-violet into the mid-infrared bands. Microcombs, a miniature and often semiconductor-chip-based device, can potentially access most of these applications, but are currently more limited in spectral reach. Here, we demonstrate mode-locked silica microcombs with emission near the edge of the visible spectrum. By using both geometrical and mode-hybridization dispersion control, devices are engineered for soliton generation while also maintaining optical Q factors as high as 80 million. Electronics-bandwidth-compatible (20 GHz) soliton mode locking is achieved with low pumping powers (parametric oscillation threshold powers as low as 5.4 mW). These are the shortest wavelength soliton microcombs demonstrated to date and could be used in miniature optical clocks. The results should also extend to visible and potentially ultra-violet bands.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seung Hoon Lee
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Dong Yoon Oh
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Qi-Fan Yang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Boqiang Shen
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Heming Wang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Ki Youl Yang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Yu-Hung Lai
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Xu Yi
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Xinbai Li
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Kerry Vahala
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Yi X, Yang QF, Zhang X, Yang KY, Li X, Vahala K. Single-mode dispersive waves and soliton microcomb dynamics. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14869. [PMID: 28332495 PMCID: PMC5376647 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr solitons are self-sustaining optical wavepackets in resonators. They use the Kerr nonlinearity to both compensate dispersion and offset optical loss. Besides providing insights into nonlinear resonator physics, they can be applied in frequency metrology, precision clocks, and spectroscopy. Like other optical solitons, the dissipative Kerr soliton can radiate power as a dispersive wave through a process that is the optical analogue of Cherenkov radiation. Dispersive waves typically consist of an ensemble of optical modes. Here, a limiting case is studied in which the dispersive wave is concentrated into a single cavity mode. In this limit, its interaction with the soliton induces hysteresis behaviour in the soliton's spectral and temporal properties. Also, an operating point of enhanced repetition-rate stability occurs through balance of dispersive-wave recoil and Raman-induced soliton-self-frequency shift. The single-mode dispersive wave can therefore provide quiet states of soliton comb operation useful in many applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xu Yi
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Qi-Fan Yang
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Xueyue Zhang
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- Department of Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Ki Youl Yang
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| | - Xinbai Li
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Kerry Vahala
- T.J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Pavlov NG, Lihachev G, Koptyaev S, Lucas E, Karpov M, Kondratiev NM, Bilenko IA, Kippenberg TJ, Gorodetsky ML. Soliton dual frequency combs in crystalline microresonators. OPTICS LETTERS 2017; 42:514-517. [PMID: 28146515 DOI: 10.1364/ol.42.000514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We present a novel compact dual-comb source based on a monolithic optical crystalline MgF2 multi-resonator stack. The coherent soliton combs generated in the two microresonators of the stack with the repetition rate of 12.1 GHz and difference of 1.62 MHz provided after heterodyning a 300 MHz wide radio frequency comb. An analogous system can be used for dual-comb spectroscopy, coherent LIDAR applications, and massively parallel optical communications.
Collapse
|
46
|
Li Q, Briles TC, Westly DA, Drake TE, Stone JR, Ilic BR, Diddams SA, Papp SB, Srinivasan K. Stably accessing octave-spanning microresonator frequency combs in the soliton regime. OPTICA 2017; 4:193-203. [PMID: 28603754 PMCID: PMC5460676 DOI: 10.1364/optica.4.000193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Microresonator frequency combs can be an enabling technology for optical frequency synthesis and timekeeping in low size, weight, and power architectures. Such systems require comb operation in low-noise, phase-coherent states such as solitons, with broad spectral bandwidths (e.g., octave-spanning) for self-referencing to detect the carrier-envelope offset frequency. However, accessing such states is complicated by thermo-optic dispersion. For example, in the Si3N4 platform, precisely dispersion-engineered structures can support broadband operation, but microsecond thermal time constants often require fast pump power or frequency control to stabilize the solitons. In contrast, here we consider how broadband soliton states can be accessed with simple pump laser frequency tuning, at a rate much slower than the thermal dynamics. We demonstrate octave-spanning soliton frequency combs in Si3N4 microresonators, including the generation of a multi-soliton state with a pump power near 40 mW and a single-soliton state with a pump power near 120 mW. We also develop a simplified two-step analysis to explain how these states are accessed without fast control of the pump laser, and outline the required thermal properties for such operation. Our model agrees with experimental results as well as numerical simulations based on a Lugiato-Lefever equation that incorporates thermo-optic dispersion. Moreover, it also explains an experimental observation that a member of an adjacent mode family on the red-detuned side of the pump mode can mitigate the thermal requirements for accessing soliton states.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qing Li
- Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
- Maryland NanoCenter, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Travis C. Briles
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - Daron A. Westly
- Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Tara E. Drake
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Jordan R. Stone
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - B. Robert Ilic
- Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Scott A. Diddams
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Scott B. Papp
- Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
| | - Kartik Srinivasan
- Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Brasch V, Geiselmann M, Pfeiffer MHP, Kippenberg TJ. Bringing short-lived dissipative Kerr soliton states in microresonators into a steady state. OPTICS EXPRESS 2016; 24:29312-29320. [PMID: 27958591 DOI: 10.1364/oe.24.029312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr solitons have recently been generated in optical microresonators, enabling ultrashort optical pulses at microwave repetition rates, that constitute coherent and numerically predictable Kerr frequency combs. However, the seeding and excitation of the temporal solitons is associated with changes in the intracavity power that can lead to large thermal resonance shifts and render the soliton states in most commonly used resonator platforms short lived. Here we describe a "power kicking" method to overcome this instability by modulating the power of the pump laser. With this method also initially very short-lived (of the order of 100 ns) soliton states can be brought into a steady state in contrast to techniques reported earlier which relied on an adjustment of the laser scan speed only. Once the soliton state is in a steady state it can persist for hours and is thermally self-locked.
Collapse
|
48
|
Webb KE, Erkintalo M, Coen S, Murdoch SG. Experimental observation of coherent cavity soliton frequency combs in silica microspheres. OPTICS LETTERS 2016; 41:4613-4616. [PMID: 28005849 DOI: 10.1364/ol.41.004613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We report on the experimental observation of coherent cavity soliton frequency combs in silica microspheres. Specifically, we demonstrate that careful alignment of the microsphere relative to the coupling fiber taper allows for the suppression of higher-order spatial modes, reducing mode interactions and enabling soliton formation. Our measurements show that the temporal cavity solitons have sub-100-fs durations, exhibit considerable Raman self-frequency shift, and generally come in groups of three or four, occasionally with equidistant spacing in the time domain. RF amplitude noise measurements and spectral interferometry confirm the high coherence of the observed soliton frequency combs, and numerical simulations show good agreement with experiments.
Collapse
|
49
|
Suh MG, Yang QF, Yang KY, Yi X, Vahala KJ. Microresonator soliton dual-comb spectroscopy. Science 2016; 354:600-603. [PMID: 27738017 DOI: 10.1126/science.aah6516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 217] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Myoung-Gyun Suh
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Qi-Fan Yang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Ki Youl Yang
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Xu Yi
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Kerry J Vahala
- T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Yi X, Yang QF, Yang KY, Vahala K. Theory and measurement of the soliton self-frequency shift and efficiency in optical microcavities. OPTICS LETTERS 2016; 41:3419-3422. [PMID: 27472583 DOI: 10.1364/ol.41.003419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr cavity solitons experience a so-called self-frequency shift (SFS) as a result of Raman interactions. The frequency shift has been observed in several microcavity systems. The Raman process has also been shown numerically to influence the soliton pumping efficiency. Here, a perturbed Lagrangian approach is used to derive simple analytical expressions for the SFS and the soliton efficiency. The predicted dependences of these quantities on soliton pulse width are compared with measurements in a high-Q silica microcavity. The Raman time constant in silica is also inferred. Analytical expressions for the Raman SFS and soliton efficiency greatly simplify the prediction of soliton behavior over a wide range of microcavity platforms.
Collapse
|