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Optical-Frequency Measurements with a Kerr Microcomb and Photonic-Chip Supercontinuum

Published

Author(s)

Erin S. Lamb, David R. Carlson, Daniel D. Hickstein, Jordan R. Stone, Scott A. Diddams, Scott B. Papp

Abstract

Dissipative solitons formed in Kerr microresonators offer the promise of chip-scale frequency combs that can extend precision metrology outside of a laboratory environment. We explore the creation of an octave-spanning, 15 GHz repetition rate microcomb suitable for both f-2f self- referencing and optical-frequency comparisons across the near infrared. We use a simple and reliable approach to deterministically generate, and subsequently frequency stabilize, soliton pulse trains in a silica disk resonator. Efficient silicon-nitride waveguides provide a supercontinuum spanning 700-2100 nm, enabling both offset-frequency stabilization and optical- frequency measurements with >100 nW per mode. We use the stabilized comb to perform the first microcomb-mediated comparison of two ultrastable optical reference cavities to demonstrate its utility.
Citation
Optica

Keywords

integrated optics, microcavities, nonlinear optics, supercontinuum generation, ultrafast nonlinear optics

Citation

Lamb, E. , Carlson, D. , Hickstein, D. , Stone, J. , Diddams, S. and Papp, S. (2018), Optical-Frequency Measurements with a Kerr Microcomb and Photonic-Chip Supercontinuum, Optica (Accessed April 26, 2024)
Created February 27, 2018, Updated March 26, 2018