Efficiency of pulse pumped soliton microcombs

Abstract

Temporal soliton mode locking in coherently pumped microcavities is a promising route towards miniaturized frequency comb systems. However, the power efficiency of the resulting microcombs is usually quite low. Soliton generation by pulse pumping provides a way to increase conversion efficiency (so far, as high as 8%). Here, we study conversion efficiency and report a single-soliton conversion efficiency as high as 54% using a scanning laser, as well as a steady-state single-soliton conversion efficiency as high as 34%. We use the Lagrangian approach to develop analytical expressions for efficiency and soliton temporal placement within the pumping pulse, and our measurements reveal features in the tuning dependence of soliton power and efficiency not seen in continuous pumping. Our experimentally confirmed expressions for efficiency will be useful in understanding advantages and limitations of pulse pumped systems.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 18, 2022
Source ID
10.1364/optica.443060

Entities

People

  • Charles Beichman
  • Chengying Bao
  • Heming Wang
  • Jiang Li
  • Kerry Vahala
  • Lue Wu
  • Qing-Xin Ji
  • Stephanie Leifer

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • National Science Foundation
  • Tsinghua University

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy