# Tailored design of mode-locking dynamics for low-noise frequency comb generation

## TL;DR

This paper presents a novel Yb-doped fiber laser design that produces low-noise, broadband frequency combs covering 700-1400 nm, suitable for precise metrology without complex dispersion compensation.

## Contribution

The authors introduce a tailored mode-locking design that achieves energetic 33 fs pulses with zero net dispersion, enabling low-noise supercontinuum generation in the 700-1400 nm range.

## Key findings

- Achieved low-noise frequency combs with 33 fs pulses
- Verified frequency accuracy with atomic clock synchronization
- Demonstrated practical metrology applications with standard components

## Abstract

We report on a mode-locked laser design using Yb-doped fiber lasers for low-noise frequency-comb generation. The frequency comb covers the spectral range from $700$ to $1400$ nm. Although this range is more practical for many measurements than that produced by the more commonly used Er-fiber lasers, it has been addressed in only a handful of reports, mainly due to the difficulty of generating a fully coherent supercontinuum at $1\;\mu$m. We overcome this difficulty by a tailored design of the mode-locking dynamics that succeeds in generating energetic 33 fs-long pulses without even using higher-order dispersion compensation, while ensuring that the laser operates with net zero cavity dispersion for low-noise supercontinuum generation. After locking to a Cs atomic clock, this frequency comb is used for absolute-frequency measurements of a Nd:YAG-I$_2$ laser to verify its accuracy by comparison with results from the International Committee for Weights and Measures. After this verification, it is further used to measure the absolute frequency of a 543-nm two-mode stabilized He-Ne laser, which is routinely used for length measurements in our institute, thus verifying its practical utility in metrology applications. The entire setup is built with readily available components for easy duplication by other researchers.