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Weng W, Kaszubowska-Anandarajah A, He J, Lakshmijayasimha PD, Lucas E, Liu J, Anandarajah PM, Kippenberg TJ. Gain-switched semiconductor laser driven soliton microcombs. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1425. [PMID: 33658513 PMCID: PMC7930029 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21569-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Dissipative Kerr soliton generation using self-injection-locked III-V lasers has enabled fully integrated hybrid microcombs that operate in turnkey mode and can access microwave repetition rates. Yet, continuous-wave-driven soliton microcombs exhibit low energy conversion efficiency and high optical power threshold, especially when the repetition frequencies are within the microwave range that is convenient for direct detection with off-the-shelf electronics. Here, by actively switching the bias current of injection-locked III-V semiconductor lasers with switching frequencies in the X-band and K-band microwave ranges, we pulse-pump both crystalline and integrated microresonators with picosecond laser pulses, generating soliton microcombs with stable repetition rates and lowering the required average pumping power by one order of magnitude to a record-setting level of a few milliwatts. In addition, we unveil the critical role of the phase profile of the pumping pulses, and implement phase engineering on the pulsed pumping scheme, which allows for the robust generation and the stable trapping of solitons on intracavity pulse pedestals. Our work leverages the advantages of the gain switching and the pulse pumping techniques, and establishes the merits of combining distinct compact comb platforms that enhance the potential of energy-efficient chipscale microcombs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenle Weng
- grid.5333.60000000121839049Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Jijun He
- grid.5333.60000000121839049Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Prajwal D. Lakshmijayasimha
- grid.15596.3e0000000102380260Photonics Systems and Sensing Laboratory, School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Ireland
| | - Erwan Lucas
- grid.5333.60000000121839049Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland ,grid.94225.38000000012158463XPresent Address: Time and Frequency Division, NIST, Boulder, CO USA ,grid.266190.a0000000096214564Present Address: Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA
| | - Junqiu Liu
- grid.5333.60000000121839049Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Prince M. Anandarajah
- grid.15596.3e0000000102380260Photonics Systems and Sensing Laboratory, School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Ireland
| | - Tobias J. Kippenberg
- grid.5333.60000000121839049Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Villois A, Skryabin DV. Soliton and quasi-soliton frequency combs due to second harmonic generation in microresonators. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:7098-7107. [PMID: 30876281 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.007098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We report how a doublet of the symmetric oppositely tilted bistable resonance peaks in a microring resonator with quadratic nonlinearity set for generation of the second harmonic can transform into a Kerr-like peak on one side of the linear cavity resonance and into a closed loop structure disconnected from the quasi-linear resonance on the other. Both types of the nonlinear resonances are associated with the formation of the soliton combs for dispersion profiles of a typical LiNbO 3 microring. We report bright quasi-solitons propagating on a weakly modulated low intensity background when the group velocity dispersions have the opposite signs for the fundamental and second harmonic. We also show exponentially localized solitons when the dispersion signsare the same. Finally, we demonstrate that the transition between these two types of soliton states is associated with the closure of the forbidden gap in the spectrum of quasi-linear waves.
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