Real-time transition dynamics and stability of chip-scale dispersion-managed frequency microcombs

Abstract

Femtosecond mode-locked laser frequency combs have served as the cornerstone in precision spectroscopy, all-optical atomic clocks, and measurements of ultrafast dynamics. Recently frequency microcombs based on nonlinear microresonators have been examined, exhibiting remarkable precision approaching that of laser frequency combs, on a solid-state chip-scale platform and from a fundamentally different physical origin. Despite recent successes, to date, the real-time dynamical origins and high-power stabilities of such frequency microcombs have not been fully addressed. Here, we unravel the transitional dynamics of frequency microcombs from chaotic background routes to femtosecond mode-locking in real time, enabled by our ultrafast temporal magnifier metrology and improved stability of dispersion-managed dissipative solitons. Through our dispersion-managed oscillator, we further report a stability zone that is more than an order-of-magnitude larger than its prior static homogeneous counterparts, providing a novel platform for understanding ultrafast dissipative dynamics and offering a new path towards high-power frequency microcombs.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 03, 2020
Source ID
10.1038/s41377-020-0290-3

Entities

People

  • Abhinav Kumar Vinod
  • Bowen Li
  • Chee Wei Wong
  • Dim-lee Kwong
  • Hao Liu
  • Hui-tian Wang
  • Jinghui Yang
  • Ke Wang
  • Kenneth K Y Wong
  • Mingbin Yu
  • Shu-Wei Huang
  • Yongnan Li

Organizations

  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Naval Research

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Theoretical Analysis.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy