Raman-Kerr Comb Generation Based on Parametric Wave Mixing in Strongly Driven Raman Molecular Gas Medium

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel optical frequency comb generated through combined stimulated Raman scattering and four-wave mixing in a deuterium-filled hollow-core fiber, achieving broad bandwidth and high power with controllable spacing.

Contribution

It introduces a new method for generating optical combs by leveraging Raman-induced Kerr nonlinearity and cascaded four-wave mixing, expanding the capabilities of frequency comb technology.

Findings

Over 100 spectral lines spanning 220 THz from 800 nm to 1710 nm.

Achieved a dense, equally-spaced spectral line comb with 1.75 THz spacing.

Total output power of 7.1 W.

Abstract

We report on experimental and theoretical demonstration of an optical comb spectrum based on a combination of cascaded stimulated Raman scattering and four-wave mixing mediated by Raman-induced nonresonant Kerr-type nonlinearity. This combination enabled to transform a conventional quasi-periodic Raman comb into a comb with a single and smaller frequency spacing. This new phenomenon is realized using a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber filled with 40 bars of deuterium, and pumped with a high-power picosecond laser. The resultant comb shows more than 100 spectral lines spanning over 220 THz from 800 nm to 1710 nm, with a total output power of 7.1 W. In contrast to a pure Raman comb, a 120 THz wide portion of the spectrum exhibits denser and equally-spaced spectral lines with a frequency spacing of around 1.75 THz, which is much smaller than the lowest frequency of the three excited deuterium Raman resonances. A numerical solution of the generalized nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation in the slowly varying envelope approximation provides very good agreement with the experimental data. The additional sidebands are explained by cascaded four-wave mixing between pre-existing spectral lines, mediated by the large Raman induced optical nonlinearity. The results open a new route to the generation of optical frequency combs that combine large bandwidth and high power controllable frequency spacing.