4H-SiC microring opto-mechanical oscillator with a self-injection locked pump

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first self-injection locking of a DFB laser to a 4H-SiC microring resonator, achieving resonant opto-mechanical oscillation with low threshold power, advancing silicon carbide photonics.

Contribution

It introduces the first self-injection locking of a DFB laser to a 4H-SiC microring resonator and observes opto-mechanical oscillation in this material platform.

Findings

Achieved self-injection locking of DFB laser to 4H-SiC microring

Observed resonant opto-mechanical oscillation at low power

Loaded optical quality factor of 2×10^6

Abstract

We have demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, self-injection locking of a distributed feedback (DFB) diode laser to a multimode 4H-silicon carbide (4H-SiC) microring resonator, and observed resonant opto-mechanical oscillation in the cavity modes. While the fundamental transverse-electric mode family of the silicon carbide microring was optically pumped, Stokes light was generated in the adjacent fundamental transverse-magnetic resonant mode. The threshold of the process did not exceed 5~mW of light entering the cavity characterized with a loaded optical quality factor of $\smash{2\times10^6}$. These results mark a significant milestone in unlocking the potential of 4H-SiC through turnkey soliton microcomb generation and empowering future advancements in areas such as cavity optomechanics using this versatile and quantum-friendly material platform.