Thermal and Nonlinear Dissipative-Soliton Dynamics in Kerr Microresonator Frequency Combs

Published

August 8, 2018

Author(s)

Jordan R. Stone, Travis Briles, Tara E. Drake, Daryl T. Spencer, David R. Carlson, Scott A. Diddams, Scott B. Papp

Abstract

We report on radiofrequency techniques to reliably generate and control dissipative-Kerr- soliton microresonator frequency combs. Since the pump-laser frequency detuning to the resonator primarily determines the soliton dynamics, we devise an offset Pound-Drever-Hall frequency-locking system to directly stabilize and tune it with RF precision. Our technique not only provides deterministic feedback to guide Kerr-soliton formation from a cold cavity, but it enables systematic exploration of the detuning-dependent thermal and nonlinear processes that govern the frequency comb provided to users for applications and opens a path to decouple the repetition and carrier-envelope-offset frequencies of the comb. In particular, we demonstrate phase stabilization of both these degrees-of-freedom with a single-soliton Kerr comb to a fractional frequency precision below 10^-14^, commensurate with modern optical-timekeeping technology. Moreover, we investigate the use of microcombs for low-noise microwave signal generation in which residual detuning noise is a fundamental limitation in the microwave spectral purity.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

microresonator, microresonator frequency comb, nonlinear optics, photonics

Citation

Stone, J. , Briles, T. , Drake, T. , Spencer, D. , Carlson, D. , Diddams, S. and Papp, S. (2018), Thermal and Nonlinear Dissipative-Soliton Dynamics in Kerr Microresonator Frequency Combs, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=924061 (Accessed October 9, 2025)