High Performance Electro Optic Frequency Combs for High Precision Measurements
Abstract
Optical frequency combs are broadband coherent light sources and precise spectral rulers. They consist of equally spaced discrete optical frequency components and are essential tools for optical communication, precision metrology, timing and spectroscopy. In time domain, frequency combs can be thought of as devices that convert continuous wave laser signal into the train of optical pulses. To date, wide spanning combs are most often generated by mode locked lasers or dispersion engineered resonators with third order Kerr nonlinearity. However, owing to the complex nature of the parametric oscillation process, Kerr combs require sophisticated control protocols to keep them stabilized. In this program we are studying the process of electro optic frequency comb generation in an integrated lithium niobate resonator, and investigating its potential for realization of highperformance, high resolution, and high signal to noise ratio sources for dual comb spectroscopy and high precision measurements in general. This work builds on our recent demonstration of electro optic comb, the device that mixes microwave and optical signals in order to generate dense comb of new optical frequencies separated by the frequency of the applied microwave signal. Specifically, we are developing an octave spanning electro optic frequency comb by precisely designing the dispersion of optical resonators. We are also improving the materials and fabrication techniques used to realize our structures. These efforts will result in 10 – 100 fold reduction of optical losses of our resonators. Particular attention is dedicated to understanding the origin of noise in these systems, and exploration of strategies to eliminate it.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 14, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95501910310
Entities
People
- Marko Loncar
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- President and Fellows of Harvard College
- United States Air Force