Self-locked broadband Raman-electro-optic microcomb

TL;DR

This paper introduces a self-locked broadband Raman-electro-optic microcomb that leverages multiple nonlinear effects to generate a wide, low-noise optical frequency comb with nearly 1400 lines over 300 nm, without external feedback.

Contribution

The authors demonstrate a novel self-locked microcomb that combines EO, Kerr, and Raman effects, overcoming nonlinear challenges to produce a broad, stable comb in integrated photonics.

Findings

Spectral width of nearly 1400 lines over 300 nm achieved.

Microcomb maintains low noise in a self-locked state.

Repetition rate of 26.03 GHz significantly larger than pure EO combs.

Abstract

Optical frequency combs (OFCs), composed of equally spaced frequency tones, have spurred advancements in communications, spectroscopy, precision measurement and fundamental physics research. A prevalent method for generating OFCs involves the electro-optic (EO) effect, i.e., EO comb, renowned for its rapid tunability via precise microwave field control. Recent advances in integrated lithium niobate (LN) photonics have greatly enhanced the efficiency of EO effect, enabling the generation of broadband combs with reduced microwave power. However, parasitic nonlinear effects, such as Raman scattering and four-wave mixing, often emerge in high quality nonlinear devices, impeding the expansion of comb bandwidth and the minimization of frequency noise. Here, we tame these nonlinear effects and present a novel type of OFC, i.e., the self-locked Raman-electro-optic (REO) microcomb by leveraging the collaboration of EO, Kerr and Raman scattering processes. The spectral width of the REO microcomb benefits from the Raman gain and Kerr effect, encompassing nearly 1400 comb lines spanning over 300 nm with a fine repetition rate of 26.03 GHz, much larger than the pure EO combs. Remarkably, the system can maintain a self-locked low-noise state in the presence of multiple nonlinearities without the need for external active feedback. Our approach points to a direction for improving the performance of microcombs and paves the way for exploring new nonlinear physics, such as new laser locking techniques, through the collaboration of inevitable multiple nonlinear effects in integrated photonics.